Palantir Technologies (NASDAQ: PLTR) has emerged as a standout in AI and data analytics, with its stock surging as investors price in accelerating demand for enterprise and government AI solutions.
Strong momentum around Palantir’s Artificial Intelligence Platform, rising commercial adoption, and continued government contract wins have driven shares sharply higher, reviving interest in the broader AI software sector.
In 2025, PLTR stock is up 150%, trading at $188 as of press time.
Looking ahead to 2026, Palantir’s dominance in the software space could face challenges. Against this backdrop, Finbold has identified two rivals that may threaten PLTR’s position in the first quarter.
Snowflake (NYSE: SNOW)
One such rival is Snowflake (NYSE: SNOW), a cloud data and AI platform central to enterprise data infrastructure. Operating at the intersection of cloud migration, large-scale analytics, and AI, the company is well positioned as organizations move AI workloads into production.
Investor attention has intensified following Snowflake’s leadership transition, with management emphasizing stronger execution and clearer monetization of AI services. This shift has aligned with improving sentiment around enterprise tech spending, as companies prioritize data platforms that support advanced analytics and generative AI.
Snowflake’s near-term outlook for Q1 2026 is also shaped by corporate activity and partnerships. Reports that it has explored acquiring AI observability firm Observe have raised expectations that Snowflake could strengthen its AI monitoring capabilities. Meanwhile, its data partnership with Palantir underscores its role in the broader AI ecosystem, potentially expanding its reach among large enterprise and government-linked clients.
Despite stiff competition from hyperscale cloud providers and private rivals like Databricks, improving demand signals and potential acquisition-led growth remain key factors that could influence Snowflake’s share price in early 2026.
C3.ai (NYSE: AI)
Another Palantir rival gaining attention is C3.ai (NYSE: AI), a pure-play enterprise AI software company with exposure to both commercial and government markets.
Unlike infrastructure-focused platforms, C3.ai specializes in ready-to-deploy AI applications across sectors such as energy, manufacturing, healthcare, and defense, placing it in direct competition with parts of Palantir’s strategy, particularly in government and industrial use cases.
Recent developments point to a company in transition with improving fundamentals. C3.ai has posted solid growth in generative AI offerings and continued to expand its enterprise and public-sector customer base.
While revenue growth has been uneven, analyst expectations for future losses have narrowed, signaling gradual progress toward profitability and positioning the stock as a potential recovery play if enterprise spending strengthens into 2026.
Heading into Q1 2026, C3.ai’s shares are likely to be driven by execution on new AI contracts, adoption of its application suite, and investor confidence in its ability to translate generative AI demand into sustainable revenue.
Its exposure to government and defense customers also links performance to federal spending trends, keeping C3.ai on investors’ radar despite ongoing volatility.
Featured image via Shutterstock
