Michael Burry fired another shot at Palantir Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:PLTR) on Wednesday, implying that Ukraine has developed its own in-house Palantir replacement.
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Burry’s latest social media post highlights a striking admission from Ukraine’s Minister of Defense: the country has built its own battlefield software it says is “no worse” than Palantir, and is increasingly deploying it instead.
Ukraine’s Palantir Replacement
The software is called Delta. Ukraine’s Defense Minister described it in an interview as “a unique world-class product” now used for drones and infantry operations.
He praised Palantir CEO Alex Karp as the first foreign company chief to visit Ukraine after the full-scale war began. But the disclosure was pointed — Delta, he said, is actively replacing Palantir in more and more use cases, even as the country still uses both systems.
Burry’s Bearish Thesis
Burry has maintained a short position against Palantir since last fall, holding June 2027 $50 puts and December 2026 $100 puts.
His fundamental thesis is that the stock is worth well under $50 per share, versus a current price of $135.23 and a market cap of $310.5 billion, according to Benzinga Pro.
Palantir shares sit 34.8% below their 52-week high of $207.52, having bounced off a low of $122.68 over the same period.
The Ukraine angle sharpens an argument Burry has been making for months. His core critique is that Palantir’s defense relationships aren’t as sticky as the stock’s valuation implies.
When a wartime client — one Karp himself has called Palantir’s most important proof of concept — starts building its own competing system, it hands the bears a live case study.
The Delta system has reportedly processed targeting data for over half a million Russian assets, according to AirVeto, and was designated Ukraine’s official data exchange platform across all military branches in August 2025.
PLTR Bulls
Palantir bulls could argue the two platforms coexist and that Delta is purpose-built for Ukraine’s specific battlefield conditions, not a commercial rival.
Karp has publicly stated Palantir is “responsible for most of the targeting in Ukraine,” and a May 2026 meeting between Karp and Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov resulted in expanded AI cooperation for air defense. The company also secured a $10 billion, 10-year U.S. Army contract in 2025.
Still, the timing of Burry’s post is deliberate. Analyst consensus on PLTR sits at a Hold with a mean target of $173.76, according to Benainga data, implying roughly 30% upside from current levels.
Burry sees it differently, pointing to heavy stock-based compensation, deal-driven sales, and now, a major wartime client with one foot out the door.
PLTR Stock Price Activity: Palantir stock was up 1.15% at $134.78 at the time of publication Wednesday, according to Benzinga Pro.
Over the past month, PLTR has gained about 1.7% versus a 1.3% rise in the S&P 500 and is down roughly 26% year-to-date compared to the index’s 9.3% gain. The stock is trading near its 52-week low of $122.68.
This image was generated using artificial intelligence via Gemini.
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