Poptip, a startup that helps companies conduct social media surveys and analyze online conversations, just announced that its team will be joining Palantir Technologies starting on August 1.
A Palantir spokesperson confirmed the acquisition but declined to comment further.
The two companies don’t seem like an obvious fit; for example, see the slightly mystified conversation that follows this tweet. As I said, Poptip is a social marketing/polling company, while Palantir is a data analysis company that sells its technology to government agencies and financial institutions.
However, what Poptip does seem to offer Palantir is experience in data analysis. Poptip founder Kelsey Falter wrote on the company blog:
The Poptip team has worked tirelessly to develop innovative technology that helps commercial companies process unstructured conversation data. And we’ve been fortunate enough to help quantify the voices of hundreds of millions of people through our products. Our work at Poptip was our first foray in real time data analysis. But we know we still have so much room to innovate and grow, and Palantir gives us the resources to do just that.
Falter also said Poptip will be “part of the growing Palantir team here in New York.”
Poptip’s investors include Lerer Ventures, RSE Ventures, and David Tisch. Palantir, meanwhile, raised a $107.5 million round last year, valuing the company at $9 billion.
