Palantir is launching a fellowship for neurodivergent individuals after a video of its CEO struggling to sit still went viral.
In an X post on Sunday night, the software company said it’s encouraging applications from those who relate to CEO Alex Karp in being “unable to sit still, or thinking faster than you can speak.”
“The neurally divergent (like myself) will disproportionately shape America’s future,” Karp said in a statement posted on X by Palantir.
In the job description, Palantir said the “Neurodivergent Fellowship” is a “recruitment pathway for exceptional neurodivergent talent.”
“This is not a diversity initiative,” the job description states, referencing a hot-button topic among company leaders.
The final round of interviews for the fellowship will be conducted by Karp, Palantir said. The role is based in New York or Washington, DC, and it pays between $110,000 and $200,000 a year.
While cross-country skiing this morning, Dr. Karp decided to launch a new program: The Neurodivergent Fellowship.If you find yourself relating to him in this video — unable to sit still, or thinking faster than you can speak — we encourage you to apply.The final round of… pic.twitter.com/2Xdrc13uj5
— Palantir (@PalantirTech) December 7, 2025
The announcement of the fellowship comes days after Karp drew attention online for his body language during an onstage interview with The New York Times’ Andrew Ross Sorkin at the DealBook Summit.
“Every pre-school teacher in America should be required to watch this video of Alex Karp being completely unable to sit still in his chair,” wrote Katherine Boyle, a general partner at A16z, in a Wednesday X post.
During the interview, Karp defended the notoriously secretive company’s ethics and praised Donald Trump’s immigration policies.
In his statement, Karp did not mention any specific form of neurodiversity, but he has previously said he has dyslexia.
Neurodiversity is a broad umbrella, including ADHD, autism, Tourette’s syndrome, dyslexia, dyspraxia, and others.
“Doing what everybody else wants me to do is much harder for a dyslexic like me than a non dyslexic,” he said in an interview with Wired published last month.
He added: “Maybe I’m not everyone’s cup of tea, but I kind of like being me on most days.”
