A non-compete clause in an employment agreement isn't valid. I think it's arguable for a stock option agreement. At that point it's not a one-sided agreement.

A non-compete clause in an employment agreement isn't valid. I think it's arguable for a stock option agreement. At that point it's not a one-sided agreement. The employee is gaining something in exchange for their non-compete, and can opt out if they want. I would bet they don't apply that to existing employees, but they'll give it a shot on anyone hired since the change. If this turns into a trend, it will mean a very interesting change to silicon valley culture. I read a blog post a couple of days ago that the average tenure for a software engineer at a medium to large company in SV was 1.5 to 2 years. With an effective way to push non-compete agreements on employees, that would be... significant. It would take a lot of companies doing it at once, though. Otherwise everyone would simply avoid the handful of firms that did it. After looking at this summary, I wouldn't work for Palantir. If I did, I'd have to consider the stock completely valueless.