• Palantir CEO Alex Karp revealed his lifelong struggle with dyslexia—not elite degrees, politics, or pedigree—shaped the free-thinking, contrarian mindset that has driven both his leadership and Palantir’s rise into one of America’s most valuable tech companies.

Palantir CEO Alex Karp offered a rare glimpse into the engine driving one of the world’s most idiosyncratic and valuable companies on Wednesday. The source of his immense success, seemingly relentless energy, and unconventional worldview, doesn’t stem from his multiple advanced degrees or his early encounters with co-founder Peter Thiel.

Instead, Karp pointed to a lifelong struggle he had long kept hidden: dyslexia, which he called the “formative moment” of his life.

For years, the narrative surrounding Karp has focused on his

See Full Page