There’s speculation this might be the data analytics company’s last raise before an IPO.

Palantir Technologies, the secretive data analytics firm led by billionaire and venture capitalist Peter Thiel, raised $500 million from Japanese insurer Sompo Japan Nipponkoa Holdings Inc according to Bloomberg.

On June 10, Palantir had raised $50 million from another Japanese company Fujitsu Limited pursuant to a strategic partnership between the companies.

According to Crunchbase, Palantir’s total funding is now at least $2.5 billion. Investors including Founders Fund, Manhattan Venture Partners, and REV are backing Palantir.

The data analytics company valued at about $20 billion in its last funding round in 2015. It is currently trading on the private market at a valuation of between $10 billion to $14 billion, the New York Times said, quoting Reuters.

Real data platform

Sompo and Palantir also agreed to launch a “Real Data Platform for Security, Health and Wellbeing”, powered by Palantir Foundry.

“Accelerated by Palantir’s work supporting the fight against COVID-19, as well as SOMPO’s internal work using Foundry to transform nursing care, the initial deployment of the platform will be focused on nursing care and healthcare in Japan,” the companies said in a press release. “Going forward, SOMPO will promote the “Security, Health and Wellbeing” of its customers and business partners. All of whom will be able to contribute to and benefit from a data asset designed to address social issues at commercial speed.”

IPO or direct listing?

Last month, Palantir CEO Alex Karp said in an “Axios on HBO” interview that the company was taking its time to decide on an IPO because it wanted to develop a demonstrable product pipeline.

“We were building products and we needed to kind of get enough of them out. So that people would see the robustness of our company internally and externally,” Karp said. “As opposed to every other tech company in the Valley, our plans, if anything, were stronger.”

A Reuters report said last week that Palantir, founded in 2003, was weighing an IPO in September this year. The company may decide on a direct listing instead of a traditional IPO, however.

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