UK’s MHCLG replaced Palantir Foundry powering the Homes for Ukraine matching scheme with an in-house system, saving millions annually by September 2025.
Key Takeaways
Palantir built the original Homes for Ukraine system on Foundry in nine days for free, covering 157,000+ refugee resettlements, then billed millions annually.
The government’s chief commercial officer flagged Palantir’s zero-cost entry strategy as contrary to open public procurement principles.
MHCLG’s in-house replacement gave the department direct control over code and data, eliminating ongoing Foundry support costs.
The migration sets a precedent for “sovereign technology”: moving a complex live government system away from a major US vendor without disruption.
Palantir argued the transition proves no vendor lock-in exists; critics counter the free-entry model still bypassed competitive tendering.
Hacker News Comment Review
Commenters from UK gov backgrounds note that integrating multi-agency visa and accommodation data is routine GDS-type work, not a uniquely hard Palantir-tier problem.
Skepticism exists about whether savings are meaningful relative to the scheme’s 2-3 billion pound total cost; the article lacks a baseline cost comparison.
Notable Comments
@simonsarris: Points out the scheme cost 2-3B as of 2023, making “millions” saved on IT a small fraction with no clear counterfactual.
