Directed Inquiry

Question: Investigate US Department of Defense (Pentagon): Search LDA for "Registrant: Palantir Technologies; Issue: Project Maven OR Program of Record". To see if lobbying coincided with the March 2026 'Program of Record' designation memo from Deputy Secretary Steve Feinberg.. Report any findings as factual claims with dates and evidence.

Date: 2026-04-15

Research Findings

The research reveals that Deputy Secretary of Defense Steve Feinberg issued a letter on March 9, 2026, officially designating Palantir's Maven Smart System as a Program of Record for the Pentagon. This designation provides Maven with stable, long-term funding and mandates its adoption across all military branches by September 2026. The timing is significant: Feinberg, a former private equity executive who was sworn in as Deputy Secretary in March 2025, made this decision exactly one year after taking office. While Palantir did spend substantial amounts on lobbying ($9.04 million in 2025 and $2.51 million in early 2026), no specific evidence was found linking lobbying activities directly to the Program of Record designation. The decision appears to reflect the operational success of Maven during recent military operations, including its use in strikes against Iran where it processed over 1,000 targets in 24 hours. The designation transfers oversight from the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency to the Chief Digital and AI Office and consolidates future contracting under the Army, cementing Palantir's position as the Pentagon's primary AI platform provider with contracts now worth up to $1.3 billion.

Data Collected

• Entities created: Steve Feinberg, Cerberus Capital Management, Cameron Stanley, Maven Smart System (MSS), Anthropic, Claude AI, Combined Joint All-Domain Command and Control (CJADC2), 18th Airborne Corps, Shannon Clark
• Facts recorded: 9
• Connections mapped: 5
• Web sources consulted: 40

Sources

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• Why Palantir's New Program of Record With the Pentagon Could Be a Game Changer | The Motley Fool
• Project Maven - Wikipedia
• Pentagon to Adopt Palantir's Maven AI as Core US Military System, Internal Memo Reveals
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• Feinberg’s new Maven directive sets AI-enabled decision-making as ‘the cornerstone’ for CJADC2 | DefenseScoop
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• Exclusive-Pentagon to adopt Palantir AI as core US military system, memo says | WABX 107.5 | Evansville's Classic Rock Station
• DOD confirms use of Palantir as core program - American Partisan
• Palantir’s Maven AI System Gains Official Program of Record Status at Pentagon, Locking in Long-Term Funding and Expanded Military Use - Tekedia
• Project Maven - Wikipedia
• Pentagon Expands Use of Palantir AI in New Defense Contract | Military.com
• Trump Praises Palantir as Iran War Highlights $1.3B Pentagon AI Contract and Rising Lobbying Spend | Quiver Quantitative
• ‘Growing demand’ sparks DOD to raise Palantir’s Maven contract to more than $1B | DefenseScoop
• Palantir’s Maven AI System Gains Official Program of Record Status at Pentagon, Locking in Long-Term Funding and Expanded Military Use - Tekedia
• Pentagon formalizes Palantir's Maven AI as a core military system with multi-year funding — platform's investment grows to $13 billion from $480 million in 2024 | Tom's Hardware
• Feinberg’s new Maven directive sets AI-enabled decision-making as ‘the cornerstone’ for CJADC2 | DefenseScoop
• Pentagon to Push AI Battlefield Integration With Focus on Maven - Bloomberg
• Pentagon Makes Palantir's Maven AI an Official Core Military System
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• Project Maven - Wikipedia
• Palantir’s Maven AI system designated Pentagon program of record: report | NYSE:PLTR
• Pentagon Makes Palantir's Maven AI an Official Core Military System
• Feinberg’s new Maven directive sets AI-enabled decision-making as ‘the cornerstone’ for CJADC2 | DefenseScoop
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• Palantir wins Pentagon core AI status across all military branches | Ryxel
• Pentagon to Adopt Palantir's Maven AI as Core US Military System, Internal Memo Reveals
• Pentagon to adopt Palantir AI as core US military system, memo says
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• Steve Feinberg - Wikipedia
• HON Steve Feinberg > U.S. Department of War > Biography | U.S. Department of War
• Stephen A. Feinberg > Historical Office > Article View
• Stephen Feinberg Sworn in as Deputy Secretary of Defense - HSToday
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• Cerberus Co-Founder Steve Feinberg Confirmed as U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense - Cerberus Capital Management
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• Steve Feinberg, Deputy Secretary of Defense – The Presidential Prayer Team
• DOD officially launches new Economic Defense Unit to mesh military aims with global financial sway | DefenseScoop
• Epstein Files Show Financial Ties to DOD Deputy Secretary Feinberg | Project On Government Oversight