What is Palantir's actual product and how does it differ from using Claude or GPT directly?

Palantir is arguing for a layered architecture they call sovereign AI. Rather than putting everything you have into a closed model that improves on your IP, Palantir builds an application layer on top of open-weight models or on-premise systems that you control. Their ontology layer sits between your data and the LLM. You get the intelligence without handing over your intellectual property to an external company. They have a lot of forward-deployed engineers who help clients set this up. It is a smart system. The fear-mongering is the marketing, but the underlying product is real.