In-Q-Tel
June 12th, 2012I haven’t posted any stories about in-Q-Tel in a while.
Via: Mercury News:
Silicon Valley in years past has supplied surveillance satellites, missiles and electronic warfare gadgets to the government. But more recently, a dazzling array of other innovations has grabbed the interest of the country’s covert operatives. Nearly a third of the 87 companies listed in the portfolio of In-Q-Tel, an investment fund for the CIA and other secretive branches of the federal government, are based here.
…
In-Q-Tel doesn’t reveal how much money it gives companies, though Darby said of the more than 180 firms it has financed since its inception in 1999, most typically receive $1 million to $3 million. While the websites for companies financed by the group suggest that many have technology that can be used to analyze personal data — an issue of concern to privacy rights advocates — Darby declined to discuss which technologies the intelligence community has adopted from Silicon Valley.
Executives with several of the Bay Area companies it has financed also were hesitant to talk. Some declined to be interviewed. Others said they either didn’t know how their innovations were being used or were prohibited from commenting.
But a few gave tantalizing hints.
Research Credit: noncompliant
