Shyam Sankar (b. 1980s). A leading American technologist and executive, best known as the Chief Technology Officer and Executive Vice President of Palantir Technologies and Chair of the Board at Ginkgo Bioworks.
Over a career spanning more than two decades, Sankar has built a reputation for pioneering disruptive software and artificial intelligence solutions that have transformed both government and private sector operations.
As one of the earliest employees at Palantir Technologies, he played a pivotal role in shaping the company’s engineering culture and defining the “forward deployed engineer” model, which embeds technologists directly with clients to solve complex, real-world data challenges. Under his leadership, Palantir Technologies evolved from a Silicon Valley startup into a global leader in software and AI, with a presence in over 50 industry verticals and a significant impact on both commercial and government sectors.
Sankar is recognized not only for his technical leadership but also as a thought leader, prolific author, and public speaker. He regularly advises elected officials and has testified before the U.S. House Select Committee on Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party, as well as the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Cybersecurity.
His insights have been featured in major outlets such as The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and American Affairs. In 2023, he launched the “First Breakfast Initiative,” a platform for sharing his thought leadership, and has appeared on influential podcasts including This Week in Startups and Arsenal of Democracy. In 2024, he was named among the top seven people in defense technology, highlighting his influence on the future of national security and technological innovation.
A graduate of Cornell University (B.S., Electrical and Computer Engineering) and Stanford University (MS, Management Science and Engineering), Sankar began his career in Silicon Valley, initially joining Xoom as its fifth employee before moving to Palantir Technologies as its thirteenth.
His technical vision was instrumental in developing Palantir’s core platform, which functions as an operating system for organizations, enabling intuitive data access and decision-making. He has championed the integration of advanced AI, including large language models, to streamline operations and drive innovation across sectors such as defense, healthcare, energy, and manufacturing.
Beyond Palantir Technologies, Sankar serves as Chair of the Board at Ginkgo Bioworks, where he leverages his expertise in AI and government partnerships to guide the company’s growth in synthetic biology and biotechnology6. His leadership is marked by a commitment to outcome-driven technology, institutional reform, and the ethical integration of AI in critical infrastructure.
Sankar continues to shape the discourse on technology’s role in society, advocating for approaches that combine human ingenuity with advanced software to solve pressing global challenges.