Palantir Reloads for the Corporation - NYTimes.com

"Reloaded" with a $9B valuation

"While most big data companies create databases that gather large and diverse information sources, then apply pattern-matching software to see if something interesting pops up, Palantir’s technology tries to encode a human element. It has worked on augmenting the way humans in a given field parse information by studying specialists in such areas as fraud spotting, or doctors who isolate outbreaks of food poisoning. The software then augments those human pattern-finding skills.
While this has proved effective for finding insurgent bomb makers and missing children, it also seems to work in finance, health care and other industries."

Palantir Reloads for the Corporation - NYTimes.com