Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale said Monday he "wouldn't mind" if the start-up were to go public in the next two or three years.
"I think it's probably the right thing to do at some point," Lonsdale told CNBC's "Power Lunch."
"I think they're really focused on the really hard problems they're solving and not as focused on, how are we going to cash out and make money?" he said.
Lonsdale founded Palantir in 2004 as part of a group that includes CEO Alex Karp and outspoken tech entrepreneur Peter Thiel. Lonsdale has since left the firm, which includes the Central Intelligence Agency as one of its clients.
The company has been long shrouded in mystery, with little public information about its contracts, operations or profitability.
Karp told CNBC in February public market investors would be "positively surprised" when the company — once valued at $20 billion — eventually discloses its financials. Though not everyone is anxious for the stock to hit the public markets.
Lonsdale now runs the 8VC investing firm and focuses particularly on tech innovations in the health care space.
—CNBC's Josh Lipton contributed to this report.
