If it wasn't for the grace of God and America, his father said he would be dead in a ditch in Lagos. For Shyam Sankar, an Indian-origin Chief Technology Officer at Palantir and Lieutenant Colonel in US Army, it is important to rearm Western democracies. And he is doing just that with the help of AI.
The 43-year-old officer working at one of the most successful US data analytics firms is all set to publish his book 'Mobilize: How to Reboot The American Industrial Base and Stop World War III'. As per The Times, he described the book as a celebration of "crazy duded" who overcame oppressive defence procurement bureaucracy to rearm the West. “Will we look back at this moment and realise that World War III had already started, and we just didn’t know it?” he writes at the start of the book.
Who is Shyam Sankar?
Shyam Sankar was the 13th employee to join Palantir in 2006. Co-founded by billionaire venture capitalist Peter Thiel, the company helped institutions fight terrorism after 9/11. In 2026, it has grown to $4.5 billion in annual revenue and is working with militaries and enterprises to build software that helps AI-driven decision-making.
Sankar was the company’s first “forward-deployed engineer”. One of the missions he was involved in had an Islamic State cell in Iraq planning to use a downed US drone to load with explosives and bring to a hospital. With the help of the company's technology, they were able to defeat the Isis cell before the drone was launched.
In 2025, he furthered his vision to improve military software and strength by becoming a reservist in the US Army. Why do so much for America?
Well, he inherited his love for the red, white and blue flag from his father. He was born in Mumbai and raised in Orlando, Florida. The story of his life is that of every quintessential American immigrant. His father was born in a hut in Tamil Nadu and was the first from the family to go to college.
He ran a pharmaceutical factory in Nigeria but moved with his family to America after their home was attacked by armed robbers. In America, the Sankars ran souvenir and dry-cleaning businesses that later went bankrupt.
But Sankar went on. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Electrical and Computer Engineering and a Master's in Management Science and Engineering from Stanford University. From working as a developer initially to becoming VP of Network Management at Xoom Corporation and Chairman at Ginkgo Bioworks, he gradually succeeded in every venture he stepped into, creating a life for his family and development for his country. His father reminded him growing up that but for the grace of God and America, he would not be alive. Now, he's paying the country back by strengthening one of the most important and futuristic sectors, the military.
For America's future
According to Sankar, in a big conflict, the US would run out of critical munitions in a week. The country's military supply chain is 'hopelessly' dependent on China, making the process of modernisation slower.
Citing the example of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and China's militarisation of the Spratly Islands in 2015, he called them similar to conflicts that formed the run-up to the Second World War. “These acts were unthinkable if we went back 15 or 25 years … I think you could say that the adversaries were not afraid of the West collectively,” he said to the outlet.
He thinks we can avert a catastrophe if we act. How? Driving America's defence tech in which venture capital funding for US firms tripled to $5 billion a year, as per CB Insights.
Rather than planning what weapons are required, it is important to build weapons that are responsive to threats. "The US military stockpile scared no one," when attacking Ukraine, he reminded. A self-described “reindustrialisation maximalist”, he wants every American company to do all it can to reduce supply chain dependence on China and manufacture more in the country.
For countries looking to ally with China, he said: “I’d say ask [US-captured Venezuelan leader Nicolás] Maduro how good of an ally China was.”
What he loves about America is its "aspiration for greatness," a "propelling force" to do more, to do better, to do something bigger. And Shyam Sankar is doing the best he can in aligning with this motto for the country he loves.
