Palantir CEO Alex Karp went on a tirade against short sellers, specifically naming Michael Burry after documents revealed that the investor of “The Big Short” fame had bet on the artificial intelligence software company. Nvidiaat the end of the last quarter.
“The two companies that he’s shorting are making all the money, which is very strange,” Karp told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Tuesday. “The idea that Chip and Ontology are things you want to short is batshit…crazy.”
“He’s actually downplaying AI. … It was us and Nvidia,” Karp added.
Barry declined to comment on Karp’s remarks when contacted by CNBC via email.
Palantir stock fell 8% on Tuesday, even as the company beat Wall Street expectations for the third quarter and gave a positive outlook. Investors are becoming increasingly wary of the high valuations of AI-related stocks. Palantir stock is up 173% year-to-date heading into Tuesday’s trading, giving it a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 228. Nvidia fell 4% after rising more than 50% this year.
“I think this is an egregious thing to do, and I’m going to take a leap of faith if it proves me wrong,” Karp said of the short sellers.
As of Sept. 30, Barry’s hedge fund, Scion Asset Management, disclosed in a filing that it had put options with a notional value of about $187 million on Nvidia and $912 million on Palantir. The filing does not specify the exercise price or expiration date of the contract.
It’s unclear whether Barry profited from Tuesday’s decline. The filing reflects his position at the end of September, and he may now be adjusting his portfolio. Berry declined to comment on his position.
“It’s not even clear that he’s trying to short us. Maybe it’s ‘How can I play my position and not look like an idiot?'” Karp said.
The disclosure comes after Barry hinted at renewed market caution in a cryptic post about X last week.
“Sometimes you see a bubble. Sometimes you need to do something about it. Sometimes the only winning strategy is not to play,” he wrote to his 1.3 million followers on the platform.
Barry rose to fame before the 2008 financial crisis for his prescient bets on mortgage-backed securities, trades chronicled in Michael Lewis’ book The Big Short and the Oscar-winning film of the same name.
“It’s very complicated when it comes to shorts…I honestly think what’s going on here is market manipulation,” Karp said. “We’ve got the best results anyone’s ever seen. It’s not even clear that he’s not doing this to get out of his position. What I’m talking about is these people, they claim to be ethical, but they’re actually shorting one of the great businesses in the world.”
