Palantir’s version of Maven evolved from the original and controversial Project Maven, which was launched in 2017 to use then-cutting edge artificial intelligence algorithms to find potential targets in “overhead imagery” -- largely drone and satellite imagery — that was coming in too fast for harried human analysts. While Google (temporarily) dropped out of the program over anti-war objections from its workforce, other tech firms helped add more capabilities to Maven, with Palantir taking the lead with its prototype award in 2021.