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On 2026-08-01 @johnloeber wrote that many startup pitches can be summed up as…

2026-08-01 · 23:23 UTC ·@johnloeber ·1 min read

Brief

John Loeber argues that the startup landscape has reverted to treating data as highly valuable: after 2006's 'data is the new oil' and 2016's 'data is toxic waste', the 2026 AI era is commoditizing public knowledge and raising the value of rare, non-public datasets. Firms collecting such data are called 'Palantir for X', prompting Loeber to question whether Palantir is undervalued.

Why it matters

On 2026-08-01 @johnloeber wrote that many startup pitches can be summed up as 'Palantir for X'.

Key details

  • He tracks data's valuation arc: ~2006 'data is the new oil', ~2016 'data is toxic waste', and by 2026 data has regained value as rare assets because AI is commoditizing 'secrets-in-plain-sight' (AI has 'read every book', making public expertise a commodity).
  • Startups that collect non-public, rare datasets are being likened to Palantir, and Loeber suggests this trend could indicate Palantir is undervalued.
Source evidence

Many startup pitches I'm hearing can be summarized as "Palantir for X"

The world is searching for secrets, and for value in either those secrets or in drawing connections between them.

It's funny to think about this evolution: 20 years ago, people said "data is the new oil". 10 years ago, people said "actually, data is toxic waste". Now, it is oil once more. Everyone wants rare data.

One of the things that AI is doing is commoditizing secrets-in-plain-sight. You may have read a book to learn something and been able to monetize it. It had value because even though the book was there, not everyone else had read it. But AI has read every book, so your knowledge or expertise is now a commodity.

What's becoming even more valuable are actual secrets, things that are not in the open for AI to read. (I am not the first to say this.) Rare data. And startups that collect or deal in rare data get likened to Palantir. And I wonder if this comparison point actually suggests that Palantir is undervalued.