Key Takeaways
- • Michael Burry's Scion Asset Management disclosed a short position of approximately $912 million in Palantir Technologies through put options, representing roughly five million shares, according to recent 13F filings.
- • Burry simultaneously established a $186.5 million short position in NVIDIA, signaling broad skepticism toward artificial intelligence-focused companies and warning of potential fraud within the sector.
- • Palantir CEO Alex Karp publicly dismissed Burry's thesis, characterizing the investor as "bats--- crazy" for betting against the company despite its 85% year-over-year revenue growth—the highest in company history.
- • Burry indicated plans to liquidate Scion Asset Management and return capital to investors by year-end, following what he characterized as failed bearish bets; the fund was subsequently deregistered with the SEC in November 2025.
- • Burry suggested in now-deleted social media commentary that Anthropic, rather than Palantir, represents the superior artificial intelligence opportunity, indicating a nuanced rather than blanket skepticism of the AI sector.
Summary
Michael Burry, the investor renowned for correctly predicting the 2008 housing crisis immortalized in "The Big Short," has taken a substantial short position against Palantir Technologies valued at approximately $912 million. According to Scion Asset Management's most recent 13F regulatory filing, Burry established put options representing roughly five million shares of the data analytics and government-focused software company. Simultaneously, he disclosed a $186.5 million short position in NVIDIA, indicating a broader bearish stance on artificial intelligence companies.
The short positions represent a controversial contrarian bet against one of Wall Street's most celebrated growth narratives. Palantir has demonstrated exceptional momentum, with revenue growth of 85% year-over-year—the highest in the company's history—driven largely by government contracts and expanding commercial deployment. Despite these strong fundamentals, Burry has maintained that the company faces significant valuation risk and warned of potential fraud within artificial intelligence firms more broadly.
Palantir Chief Executive Alex Karp responded sharply to Burry's bet, publicly dismissing the investor as "bats--- crazy" for shorting the company. This direct rebuke underscores the fundamental disagreement between Burry's technical and fraud-based thesis and Palantir's management regarding the company's valuation and business trajectory. Burry's criticism specifically centered on what he characterized as inflated valuations and problematic practices within the AI sector broadly.
The short campaign appears to have concluded without the intended outcome. Burry announced plans to liquidate Scion Asset Management and return remaining capital to investors by year-end 2025. Scion was subsequently deregistered with the SEC in November 2025, marking the formal closure of the fund. In separate commentary, Burry suggested that Anthropic represents a superior artificial intelligence investment opportunity compared to Palantir, indicating his skepticism was not uniformly applied across the sector but rather targeted at specific companies he viewed as overvalued or problematic.
The short positions represent a controversial contrarian bet against one of Wall Street's most celebrated growth narratives. Palantir has demonstrated exceptional momentum, with revenue growth of 85% year-over-year—the highest in the company's history—driven largely by government contracts and expanding commercial deployment. Despite these strong fundamentals, Burry has maintained that the company faces significant valuation risk and warned of potential fraud within artificial intelligence firms more broadly.
Palantir Chief Executive Alex Karp responded sharply to Burry's bet, publicly dismissing the investor as "bats--- crazy" for shorting the company. This direct rebuke underscores the fundamental disagreement between Burry's technical and fraud-based thesis and Palantir's management regarding the company's valuation and business trajectory. Burry's criticism specifically centered on what he characterized as inflated valuations and problematic practices within the AI sector broadly.
The short campaign appears to have concluded without the intended outcome. Burry announced plans to liquidate Scion Asset Management and return remaining capital to investors by year-end 2025. Scion was subsequently deregistered with the SEC in November 2025, marking the formal closure of the fund. In separate commentary, Burry suggested that Anthropic represents a superior artificial intelligence investment opportunity compared to Palantir, indicating his skepticism was not uniformly applied across the sector but rather targeted at specific companies he viewed as overvalued or problematic.
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