Dallas-based Goldcrest Capital has partnered in a $22 million Series A for Denver-based Northslope, the first applied AI company purpose-built for the Palantir operating system, to scale its “forward deployed engineering” model and grow its Palantir-based AI application platform. 

The Series A was co-led by Goldcrest Capital, founded by Adam Ross, Palantir’s first independent board member, and Friends & Family Capital, founded by former Palantir CFO Colin Anderson. Additional participation came from Fifth Down Capital, Leblon Capital, and a network of Palantir alumni, including a co-founder, director, and leaders across product and forward deployed engineering.

“The next Palantir will be built on Palantir,” said Ross, founding partner of Goldcrest Capital and former Palantir board member. “Northslope is creating a new enterprise software category for the world’s AI operating system.” 

“For decades, organizations had to choose between expensive multi-year builds and generic SaaS that commoditized away their competitive advantage,” he added in a statement. “We’re watching Northslope’s mission-specific AI applications deliver better outcomes for customers and replace two different trillion-dollar industries in the process.”

Customizing AI-powered solutions

The Series A raise follows a breakout year in which Northslope delivered production results for customers across multiple industries and grew revenue nearly 7x, establishing itself as a leader in “mission-specific AI,” the company said.

Founded and built by former Palantir forward deployed engineers, Northslope said it’s on the move to end the era of one-size-fits-all software. “The leading enterprises of the next century need AI that amplifies their differentiation rather than conforming them to the status quo,” the company added.

“World-changing organizations don’t run on off-the-shelf software, they cannot afford to operate like everyone else,” said Founder and CEO Bill Ward, a former Palantir forward deployed engineer. “Northslope brings mission-specific software within reach for organizations ready to stop compromising. Our customers get to focus on what only they can do. We handle the rest.”

Today, Northslope’s products help doctors diagnose cancer earlier, aerospace manufacturers build and fly better rockets, and energy producers supply more renewable energy around the world. The company said that its connected AI application suites offer each customer precise control of customized software “without sacrificing the speed, cost structure, or maintainability of enterprise SaaS.”

Named elite Palantir partner

“The enterprise technology stack of the AI age will be the Palantir operating system plus Northslope’s mission-specific applications,” Colin Anderson, founding partner of Friends & Family Capital and former CFO of Palantir, said in a statement.

“Northslope pioneers this category, with AI deployed in complex enterprise production environments to deliver meaningful customer outcomes today,” he added. “The winners of Enterprise AI will be the ones who know how to deploy deep inside the most important institutions in the world. Northslope already does this today.”

The funding comes on the heels of Northslope earning the status of Palantir’s first and only Vanguard: Elite partner, recognizing Northslope’s effective forward deployed engineering model and differentiated outcomes delivered for customers on the Palantir operating system.

“Northslope enables customers to win with Palantir AIP and dominate their industry,” said Ted Mabrey, global head of Commercial at Palantir Technologies. “We’re extremely bullish on Northslope’s vision and execution, and are proud to serve the most critical institutions in the West together.”

Denver-based Palantir has been in the news recently because of its contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for the use of its AI tools in tracking down people for possible deportation.

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