Downtown Palo Alto, the heart and soul of Silicon Valley and former home to Google, Facebook and PayPal, is slowly turning into a scene out of "Lord of the Rings."
Palantir Technologies, a highly secretive software developer whose name is derived from a magical crystal ball in J.R.R. Tolkien's fantasy novel, has been gobbling up real estate in the upscale home of Stanford University, and — according to critics — uprooting a vibrant start-up ecosystem in the process.
Unlike its start-up predecessors, which outgrew the cramped streets of Palo Alto and moved to more traditional corporate campuses in nearby Menlo Park and Mountain View, Palantir is intent on staying put and expanding. The company controls about 250,000 square feet of office space, or 10 to 15 percent of the commercial inventory, spread over 23 or so buildings. Some of its leases are for a decade or longer.
WNU Editor: My brother lives in San Mateo, and there was a time that I was thinking of moving and living in Palo Alto. I fell in love with the place on my first visit. I love Stanford University, the sunshine, the little stores, the restaurants, the overall positive energy of the place. As it turned out .... I had a better offer .... a personal decision that I have no regrets about. That is why I am not surprised that the people behind Palantir have made the decision to expand in Palo Alto .... my guess is that they want to tap into the brain power that exists in Stanford, and they want to entice the best and the brightest to work with them. If I was a betting man .... considering who they work for .... I am willing to bet that they are going to succeed.
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