£330 Million. No Measurable Benefit.
Analysis reveals NHS trusts using Palantir’s OPTICA tool saw no improvement in discharge delays compared to those that did not adopt the system.
The Evidence
On 27 July 2026, the Health Foundation published analysis finding no meaningful difference in discharge delays between NHS trusts using Palantir's OPTICA tool and trusts that never adopted it.
NHS England had previously told the public that the Federated Data Platform cut long-stay discharge delays by 15 per cent. However, that figure came from an NHS England analysis restricted to long-stay discharges alone.
Steve Black, a healthcare consultant and former NHS data scientist, said selectively quoting evidence in this way is dangerous because the tool should be judged on whether it fixes the underlying problem of freeing up beds.
Palantir responded that the Health Foundation misunderstands what the tool does. The Health Foundation has put its analysis to the Office for Statistics Regulation, which is already assessing how the government uses data to justify Palantir's software.
A pattern of underperformance
Freedom of Information requests by Foxglove found that nearly a third of trusts using Palantir's care coordination tool performed fewer procedures than before it went live.
Chelsea and Westminster Hospital accounted for 84 per cent of the reported fall in outpatient waiting lists. Only 16 trusts used the tool at all, and by the end of 2024, fewer than a quarter of England's 215 trusts were actively using the platform.
OPTICA itself was built by NECS, an NHS-owned commissioning support unit, while Palantir hosts it.
How the deal was won
Palantir entered the NHS in March 2020 on a contract worth £1. Extensions followed, leading to £60 million in Covid-era contracts awarded without competition.
In November 2023, NHS England handed Palantir the Federated Data Platform, worth up to £330 million over seven years. Campaigners forced publication of the contract, which arrived with 200 pages blacked out.
The Financial Times reported that the invitation to tender contained screenshots of Palantir's own systems with the logo obscured. Shane Tickell, who led a rival consortium of British firms, said Palantir was opening doors and pitching long before procurement began.
Investigative outlet The Nerve identified 32 senior UK officials hired by Palantir, including Indra Joshi, who ran NHS England's AI programme before joining the company in 2022. Palantir rejects the "revolving door" characterisation.
Liberal Democrat MP Martin Wrigley wants answers regarding an unminuted 2019 meeting between Boris Johnson, Dominic Cummings and Peter Thiel.
In June 2026, the cross-party Science, Innovation and Technology Committee called Palantir's position an unacceptable point of weakness and told ministers to trigger the February 2027 break clause.
What the software does elsewhere
Palantir's Maven Smart System processes drone, satellite and sensor feeds to generate military targets. The Pentagon raised its ceiling towards $1.3 billion through 2029, and NATO bought the system in 2025.
Alex Karp says Palantir is responsible for most targeting in Ukraine. In February 2026, he stated that Palantir weapons software features in every combat situation he knows of. In January 2024, Palantir signed a strategic partnership with Israel's Ministry of Defence for war-related missions.
ICE has run on Palantir since 2014. In April 2025, the agency awarded $29.8 million, with no competition, for ImmigrationOS, which covers deportation targeting, self-deportation tracking and removal logistics. The ceiling for this contract is $159 million.
This is the same company and the same technology stack involved in holding £670 million in UK government contracts.