Investing.com -- Palantir Technologies' (NYSE:PLTR) artificial intelligence-focused conference on Thursday could provide more insight into the implications of the data analytics firm's recently extended partnership with oil giant BP (NYSE:BP), according to analysts at Citi.
Earlier this week, Palantir and BP announced that they had agreed to a five-year strategic relationship that will grant the British energy group the ability to use large language models to automate its analysis of site data and "accelerate human decision-making."
The agreement extends an already decade-long relationship between the businesses that they said has featured "deep collaboration." Since 2014, Palantir's software has been used by BP to support its oil and gas production operations "from offshore oil platforms in the North Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, to the Khazzan gas fields in Oman," the Colorado-based company said in a statement on Monday.
Palantir added that its latest AI software would lead to the "safe and reliable" deployment of the nascent technology and guard against "hallucinations" -- or an AI-generated response which contains false or misleading information presented as fact.
In a note to clients on Wednesday, the analysts at Citi said that BP could become a "notable reference customer" for Palantir that "could help drive additional adoption" of its AI platform, which is used to test and evaluate AI-related scenarios.
They added that they will watching Palantir's AIPCon event on Thursday, which is due to feature presentations from many of its customers, for an update on how the new deal with BP will "highlight" its AI operations.
A boom in enthusiasm around the applications of AI has powered Palantir's recent returns, with the firm posting better-than-anticipated third-quarter sales and its biggest ever quarterly profit in August. Palantir has also lifted its full-year sales and income outlook twice this year.
Shares in Palantir have soared by more than 110% so far this year.