Palantir Secures Partial Victory Against Former Employees of AI Startup
A judge has sided with Palantir Technologies Inc. in a legal dispute involving a trio of former employees who allegedly breached confidentiality and non-solicitation agreements while founding their new artificial intelligence startup, Percepta. However, the judge stopped short of halting their operations at the new company.
Palantir initiated legal action against Percepta’s co-founder and CEO, Hirsh Jain, last year, claiming he launched an aggressive campaign to recruit numerous Palantir employees after his departure from the company in August 2024. The lawsuit also named two other former executives, Radha Jain and Joanna Cohen, accusing them of attempting to poach colleagues and stealing confidential documents, respectively.
US District Judge J. Paul Oetken issued a brief one-page order on Wednesday, refraining from detailing specific requirements for the defendants. He indicated that a more comprehensive decision would be made public after addressing requests from both parties to protect sensitive information.
Palantir sought an order to prevent all three defendants from continuing their work at Percepta, but Judge Oetken denied this request. He noted that Hirsh Jain and Radha Jain, who are not related, likely violated agreements prohibiting the solicitation of Palantir employees, while Cohen was found to have likely breached confidentiality agreements.
Both parties expressed satisfaction with the ruling in their statements on Wednesday. Palantir’s attorney, Harris Mufson, stated, “We are pleased with the court’s decision to enjoin every defendant. Today’s order sends a clear message: Palantir will act – and prevail – against those who unlawfully solicit our employees or exfiltrate our confidential information. We will continue to hold unlawful actors accountable in this case and others.”
On the other hand, Steven Feldman, representing the defendants, remarked, “We are thrilled that the court has rejected Palantir’s central claims, including their misguided non-compete and tortious interference arguments, and that the full team can get back to work building Percepta immediately.”
General Catalyst, the venture capital firm backing Percepta, did not respond to a request for comment but has previously described the Palantir lawsuit as “baseless.”
According to Palantir’s lawsuit, Hirsh Jain was an executive responsible for its healthcare portfolio, while Radha Jain was instrumental in designing and building Palantir’s flagship software. Cohen, an engineer, had worked closely with some of Palantir’s largest clients.
In court documents, Palantir cited a text from Hirsh Jain to Radha Jain, stating, “I’m down to pillage the best devs at Palantir” for Percepta.
Palantir, co-founded by billionaire Peter Thiel, is renowned for its collaborations with US military and intelligence agencies, in addition to providing data analysis tools to both government and commercial sectors.
The case is Palantir v. Jain, 25-cv-08985, in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York (Manhattan).
Photo: A logo for Palantir Technologies Inc. sits on a pop-up office ahead of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland in 2019. Photographer: Jason Alden/Bloomberg
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A judge has sided with Palantir Technologies Inc. in a legal dispute involving a trio of former employees who allegedly breached confidentiality and non-solicitation agreements while founding their new artificial intelligence startup, Percepta. However, the judge stopped short of halting their operations at the new company.
Palantir initiated legal action against Percepta’s co-founder and CEO, Hirsh Jain, last year, claiming he launched an aggressive campaign to recruit numerous Palantir employees after his departure from the company in August 2024. The lawsuit also named two other former executives, Radha Jain and Joanna Cohen, accusing them of attempting to poach colleagues and stealing confidential documents, respectively.
US District Judge J. Paul Oetken issued a brief one-page order on Wednesday, refraining from detailing specific requirements for the defendants. He indicated that a more comprehensive decision would be made public after addressing requests from both parties to protect sensitive information.
Palantir sought an order to prevent all three defendants from continuing their work at Percepta, but Judge Oetken denied this request. He noted that Hirsh Jain and Radha Jain, who are not related, likely violated agreements prohibiting the solicitation of Palantir employees, while Cohen was found to have likely breached confidentiality agreements.
Both parties expressed satisfaction with the ruling in their statements on Wednesday. Palantir’s attorney, Harris Mufson, stated, “We are pleased with the court’s decision to enjoin every defendant. Today’s order sends a clear message: Palantir will act – and prevail – against those who unlawfully solicit our employees or exfiltrate our confidential information. We will continue to hold unlawful actors accountable in this case and others.”
On the other hand, Steven Feldman, representing the defendants, remarked, “We are thrilled that the court has rejected Palantir’s central claims, including their misguided non-compete and tortious interference arguments, and that the full team can get back to work building Percepta immediately.”
General Catalyst, the venture capital firm backing Percepta, did not respond to a request for comment but has previously described the Palantir lawsuit as “baseless.”
According to Palantir’s lawsuit, Hirsh Jain was an executive responsible for its healthcare portfolio, while Radha Jain was instrumental in designing and building Palantir’s flagship software. Cohen, an engineer, had worked closely with some of Palantir’s largest clients.
In court documents, Palantir cited a text from Hirsh Jain to Radha Jain, stating, “I’m down to pillage the best devs at Palantir” for Percepta.
Palantir, co-founded by billionaire Peter Thiel, is renowned for its collaborations with US military and intelligence agencies, in addition to providing data analysis tools to both government and commercial sectors.
The case is Palantir v. Jain, 25-cv-08985, in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York (Manhattan).
Photo: A logo for Palantir Technologies Inc. sits on a pop-up office ahead of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland in 2019. Photographer: Jason Alden/Bloomberg
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