MHCLG replaced Palantir Foundry in its Homes for Ukraine matching system with an in-house build, saving millions per year in running costs.
Key Takeaways
Palantir stood up the original Foundry-based system in 9 days for free for 6 months; costs grew to millions annually before replacement.
The in-house replacement was operational by September 2025, giving MHCLG ownership of system data and code.
The UK government’s chief commercial officer flagged Palantir’s zero-cost entry model as contrary to open procurement competition principles.
MHCLG framed the move as a step toward “sovereign technology” and reduced dependence on large US tech suppliers.
Palantir countered that the transition proves no vendor lock-in exists with its platform.
Hacker News Comment Review
Commenters with UK public sector experience argue the root cause is Whitehall pay policy: departments cannot hire engineers at market rates but can pay consultancies 6x the equivalent day rate, making in-house builds structurally hard to initiate.
Several insiders questioned whether Palantir Foundry’s complexity was ever warranted here, noting that combining visa and accommodation datasets is a standard DDAT (Digital, Data and Technology) team challenge, not a novel engineering problem.
Concern surfaced that incentive misalignment is the core issue: external contractors benefit from client dependency, while in-house teams do not, which affects long-term architecture decisions.
Notable Comments
@Centigonal: Breaks down Palantir’s cost model clearly – product margins plus embedded FDEs is only a good deal if your internal data integration capability is weak.
@robertlagrant: Claims his company lost an NHS data contract to Palantir despite offering a sovereign, equity-for-data model that kept data in-house.
