Michael Burry's recent critique of Palantir Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLTR) strikes at the heart of the moat debate in the software industry. 

Burry, famous for his contrarian views, suggests that Palantir's competitive advantage is not necessarily its superior predictive modeling or its Gotham interface, but rather a sophisticated form of vendor lock-in characterized by the obstruction of data transfer.

PLTR stock is moving. See the chart and price action here. 

The NYPD Controversy

Burry's argument centers on a public dispute between Palantir and the New York City Police Department. 

The NYPD alleged that after years of using the platform, Palantir refused to provide data in a format that was easily migrated to other systems. 

Specifically, the department claimed they could not access the analytical insights and “tags” their own investigators had generated within the software. From Burry's perspective, this is Palantir's business strategy. 

This is a story from 2017. The ...