In-Q-Tel

{{pic|File:Logo of In-Q-Tel (2010).svg|Logo as of 2010|100px}}

Originally named Peleus and known as In-Q-It, In-Q-Tel was "the brainchild" of former Director of Central Intelligence George Tenet.{{cite news |last1=Rosen |first1=Jeffrey |title=Silicon Valley's Spy Game |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/14/magazine/silicon-valley-s-spy-game.html |access-date=9 June 2025 |work=New York Times |date=14 April 2002 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250521105309/https://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/14/magazine/silicon-valley-s-spy-game.html |archive-date=21 May 2025 |language=en |url-status=live}} Gilman Louie was In-Q-Tel's first CEO and Norm Augustine, a former CEO of Lockheed Martin, led the board of directors.{{cite web|last=Yannuzzi|first=Rick E.|date=2000|title=In-Q-Tel: A new partnership between the CIA and the private sector |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/intelligence-history/in-q-tel|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170307152354/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/intelligence-history/in-q-tel|archive-date=March 7, 2017|access-date=July 7, 2021|publisher=Central Intelligence Agency|issn=1061-6845}} In-Q-Tel's mission is to identify and invest in companies developing cutting-edge technologies that serve United States national security interests. Congress approved funding for In-Q-Tel, which was increased in later years.{{Cite news |last=Paletta |first=Damian |date=2016-08-30 |title=The CIA's Venture-Capital Firm, Like Its Sponsor, Operates in the Shadows |language=en-US |work=Wall Street Journal |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-cias-venture-capital-firm-like-its-sponsor-operates-in-the-shadows-1472587352 |access-date=2021-01-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160831020609/https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-cias-venture-capital-firm-like-its-sponsor-operates-in-the-shadows-1472587352 |archive-date=31 August 2016 |issn=0099-9660|url-access=subscription}} Origins of the corporation can also be traced to Ruth A. David, who headed the Central Intelligence Agency's Directorate of Science & Technology in the 1990s and promoted the importance of rapidly advancing information technology for the CIA.{{cite book|title=The Real Cyber War|url=http://www.press.uillinois.edu/books/catalog/83cdd9wm9780252039126.html|publisher=University of Illinois Press|first1=Shawn M|last1=Powers|first2=Michael|last2=Jablonski|location=Champaign, IL|date=April 2015|isbn=978-0-252-09710-2|pages=63–69|access-date=2015-11-15|archive-date=2015-11-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151117031445/http://www.press.uillinois.edu/books/catalog/83cdd9wm9780252039126.html|url-status=live}}

In-Q-Tel now engages with entrepreneurs, growth companies, researchers, and venture capitalists to deliver technologies that provide superior capabilities for the CIA, DIA, NGA, and the wider intelligence community.{{cite web|title=Technology Focus|url=https://www.iqt.org/technology-focus/|publisher=In-Q-Tel|access-date=14 August 2014|quote=IQT is focused on new and emerging commercial technologies that have the potential to give the CIA and broader U.S. Intelligence Community (IC) mission-advantage today and in the future. As a strategic partner, we work with the IC ...|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140530111138/https://www.iqt.org/technology-focus/|archive-date=30 May 2014|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}} In-Q-Tel concentrates on three broad commercial technology areas: software, infrastructure and materials sciences.

Former CIA director George Tenet said,

We [the CIA] decided to use our limited dollars to leverage technology developed elsewhere. In 1999 we chartered ... In-Q-Tel. ... While we pay the bills, In-Q-Tel is independent of CIA. CIA identifies pressing problems, and In-Q-Tel provides the technology to address them. The In-Q-Tel alliance has put the Agency back at the leading edge of technology ... This ... collaboration ... enabled CIA to take advantage of the technology that Las Vegas uses to identify corrupt card players and apply it to link analysis for terrorists [cf. the parallel data-mining effort by the SOCOM-DIA operation Able Danger], and to adapt the technology that online booksellers use and convert it to scour millions of pages of documents looking for unexpected results.{{citation|author=George Tenet|title=At The Center Of The Storm: My Years at the CIA|publisher=Harper Press|year=2007|page=26}}

In-Q-Tel sold 5,636 shares of Google, worth over US$2.2 million, on November 15, 2005.{{cite web |url=http://google.blognewschannel.com/archives/2005/11/15/cia-sells-google-shares/ |title=CIA sells Google shares|date=November 15, 2005 |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091217175159/http://google.blognewschannel.com/archives/2005/11/15/cia-sells-google-shares/ |archive-date=December 17, 2009}} The share transfer was a result of Google's acquisition of Keyhole, Inc, the CIA-funded satellite mapping software now known as Google Earth.{{Cite web|title=Former Google exec sheds light on KC startups, Kansas tech scene|url=https://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/news/2020/01/15/techmap-kansas-technology-scene-awareness.html |website=www.bizjournals.com|access-date=2020-04-20|archive-date=2021-03-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308125749/https://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/news/2020/01/15/techmap-kansas-technology-scene-awareness.html|url-status=live}}

In August 2006, In-Q-Tel reviewed more than 5,800 business plans and invested approximately $150M in more than 90 companies.[http://www.iqt.org/invest/index.htm In-Q-Tel website: Investing in our National Security.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121106093820/http://www.iqt.org/invest/index.htm |date=2012-11-06 }} Obtained August 2006.

As of 2016, In-Q-Tel listed 325 investments, but more than 100 were secret, according to the Washington Post.

In-Q-Tel is a Virginia-registered corporation,{{cite web |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=96680 |title=In-Q-Tel Bloomberg Company Overview |website=Bloomberg News |access-date=2017-06-20 |archive-date=2019-06-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190629011218/https://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=96680 |url-status=live }} legally independent of the CIA or any other government agency. The corporation is bound by its Charter agreement and annual contract with the CIA, which set out the relationship between the two organizations. In-Q-Tel's mission (to support the Intelligence Community's technical needs) is promoted by the In-Q-Tel Interface Center (QIC), an office within the CIA that facilitates communication and relationships between In-Q-Tel and government intelligence organizations.{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/intelligence-history/in-q-tel |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905090735/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/intelligence-history/in-q-tel |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 5, 2015 |title=In-Q-Tel: A New Partnership Between the CIA and the Private Sector |access-date=2017-06-20}} While In-Q-Tel is a nonprofit corporation, it differs from IARPA and other models in that its employees and trustees can profit from its investments. A Wall Street Journal investigation found that in 2016, nearly half of In-Q-Tel's trustees had a financial connection with a company the corporation had funded.

In-Q-Tel's current president and CEO is Steve Bowsher.

Original members of the board include Lee A. Ault, III, Norman R. Augustine, John Seely Brown, Stephen Friedman, Paul G. Kaminski, Jeong H. Kim, Alex J. Mandl, John N. McMahon, and William J. Perry.{{cite web | title=BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN SILICON VALLEY AND THE CAPITAL BELTWAY: LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE U.S. GOVERNMENT'S VENTURE CAPITAL AND STARTUP ENGAGEMENTS IN INTELLIGENCE AND DEFENSE | date=May 4, 2018 | url=https://repositories.lib.utexas.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/57535159-c892-4662-a84a-013330b5f3ed/content | page=55 | access-date=January 4, 2024 | archive-date=January 4, 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240104020353/https://repositories.lib.utexas.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/57535159-c892-4662-a84a-013330b5f3ed/content | url-status=live }}

The chairman of the board is Michael M. Crow.{{cite web |url=https://www.iqt.org/about-iqt/team/ |title=In-Q-Tel – About Team |access-date=2017-06-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180716111725/https://www.iqt.org/about-iqt/team/ |archive-date=2018-07-16 |url-status=dead }}

{{more citations needed|list of companies|date=September 2014}}

The company lists the majority of its investments on its website page.In-Q-Tel website. [https://www.iqt.org/portfolio/ In-Q-Tel — Portfolio.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150825091828/https://www.iqt.org/portfolio/ |date=2015-08-25 }}

In-Q-Tel functions partially in public; however, what products it has and how they are used is strictly secret.{{cite news|last=O'Hara|first=Terence|date=15 August 2005|title=In-Q-Tel, CIA's Venture Arm, Invests in Secrets|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/14/AR2005081401108.html|access-date=16 July 2017|via=washingtonpost.com|archive-date=10 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010160625/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/14/AR2005081401108.html|url-status=live}} According to The Washington Post, "virtually any U.S. entrepreneur, inventor or research scientist working on ways to analyze data has probably received a phone call from In-Q-Tel or at least been Googled by its staff of technology-watchers."

;Hardware

• Xanadu Quantum Technologies{{Cite web|date=2021-05-25|title=Xanadu secures $120 million CAD led by Bessemer to build photonic quantum computer {{!}} BetaKit|url=https://betakit.com/xanadu-secures-120-million-cad-led-by-bessemer-to-build-photonic-quantum-computer/|access-date=2021-05-25|language=en-CA|archive-date=2021-05-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210525122252/https://betakit.com/xanadu-secures-120-million-cad-led-by-bessemer-to-build-photonic-quantum-computer/|url-status=live}} – photonic quantum computers
• Tyfone{{Cite web|title=Tyfone and In-Q-Tel Sign Strategic Agreement to Bring Mobile Security in Cloud and NFC Transactions for U.S. Government – In-Q-Tel|url=https://www.iqt.org/news/tyfone-and-in-q-tel-sign-strategic-agreement-to-bring-mobile-security-in-cloud-and-nfc-transactions-for-u-s-government/|access-date=2021-01-14|website=www.iqt.org|archive-date=2021-01-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210121012843/https://www.iqt.org/news/tyfone-and-in-q-tel-sign-strategic-agreement-to-bring-mobile-security-in-cloud-and-nfc-transactions-for-u-s-government/|url-status=live}} – digital security for mobility, cloud, and IoT
• Stoke Space – reusable rocket{{Cite web |date=2023-10-06 |title=Reusable Rocket Builder Stoke Space Gets $100M in New Series B Funding |url=https://www.govconwire.com/2023/10/reusable-rocket-builder-stoke-space-gets-100m-in-new-series-b-funding/ |access-date=2023-11-10 |website=GovCon Wire |language=en-US |archive-date=2023-11-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231110092011/https://www.govconwire.com/2023/10/reusable-rocket-builder-stoke-space-gets-100m-in-new-series-b-funding/ |url-status=live }}

;Data centers

• Bay Microsystems – packet processing and data traffic
• Systems Research and Development – real-time data warehousing
• Network Appliance – Decru (networked data storage)
• JetCool – liquid cooling for data centres{{Cite web |date=2023-10-11 |title=JetCool Raises $17 Million Series A Funding Round to Meet Escalating Demand for Data Center Cooling Driven by the AI and High-Density Semiconductor Boom |url=https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231011601360/en/JetCool-Raises-17-Million-Series-A-Funding-Round-to-Meet-Escalating-Demand-for-Data-Center-Cooling-Driven-by-the-AI-and-High-Density-Semiconductor-Boom |access-date=2023-11-10 |website=www.businesswire.com |language=en |archive-date=2023-11-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231110092009/https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231011601360/en/JetCool-Raises-17-Million-Series-A-Funding-Round-to-Meet-Escalating-Demand-for-Data-Center-Cooling-Driven-by-the-AI-and-High-Density-Semiconductor-Boom |url-status=live }}

;Bioscience

• Colossal Biosciences{{cite web | url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-01-15/colossal-biosciences-raises-200-million-to-bring-back-the-woolly-mammoth | title=Woolly Mammoth, Dodo Get Another Shot as Startup Raises $200 Million | work=Bloomberg }}

• Dan Geer (2008–present) Chief Information Security Officer[http://blogs.zdnet.com/security/?p=1196 Dan Geer leaves Verdasys for In-Q-Tel] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080529025426/http://blogs.zdnet.com/security/?p=1196 |date=2008-05-29 }}, by Ryan Naraine, ZDNet, May 28, 2008. Accessed 2008-07-09.
• Michael D. Griffin – former president; later administrator of NASA.{{Cite web|title=IN-Q-TEL NAMES DR. MICHAEL D. GRIFFIN AS PRESIDENT AND CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER – In-Q-Tel|url=https://www.iqt.org/news/in-q-tel-names-dr-michael-d-griffin-as-president-and-chief-operating-officer/|access-date=2021-01-14|website=www.iqt.org|archive-date=2021-01-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210121000022/https://www.iqt.org/news/in-q-tel-names-dr-michael-d-griffin-as-president-and-chief-operating-officer/|url-status=live}}{{Cite journal |title=Taira on Offensive |journal=Science |year=2006 |volume=311 |issue=5763 |page=931 |doi=10.1126/science.311.5763.931d |s2cid=162239621 |url=https://www.science.org/doi/abs/10.1126/science.311.5763.931d |access-date=2022-06-30 |archive-date=2024-02-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240205173204/https://www.science.org/doi/abs/10.1126/science.311.5763.931d |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}
• Norman R. Augustine
• Gilman Louie – former CEO{{Cite web|title=Gilman Louie|url=https://fas.org/expert/gilman-louie/|access-date=2021-01-14|website=Federation Of American Scientists|language=en-US|archive-date=2021-01-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210121104406/https://fas.org/expert/gilman-louie/|url-status=live}}
• Paul G. Kaminski – former director{{cite web|title=Paul G. Kaminski Bloomberg Profile|website=Bloomberg News|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/people/person.asp?personId=1030747&privcapId=274561|access-date=2017-06-20|archive-date=2024-02-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240205173057/https://www.bloomberg.com/markets/stocks?cic_redirect=fallback|url-status=live}}
• Amit Yoran – former CEO{{Cite web|title=IN-Q-TEL ANNOUNCES AMIT YORAN AS NEW CEO – In-Q-Tel|url=https://www.iqt.org/news/in-q-tel-announces-amit-yoran-as-new-ceo/|access-date=2021-01-14|website=www.iqt.org|archive-date=2021-01-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210121033932/https://www.iqt.org/news/in-q-tel-announces-amit-yoran-as-new-ceo/|url-status=live}}
• John Seely Brown{{cite web|title=Board of Trustees|url=http://www.iqt.org/about-iqt/our-team/board-of-trustees.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090303194116/http://www.iqt.org/about-iqt/our-team/board-of-trustees.html|archive-date=2009-03-03|access-date=2021-01-14|website=In-Q-Tel}}
• Stephen Friedman
• William J. Perry
• Alex J. Mandl
• Rebecca Bace{{Cite web|title=Becky Bace In Memoriam|url=https://www.southalabama.edu/colleges/soc/research/ttp/beckybacememorium.html|access-date=2021-01-14|website=www.southalabama.edu|archive-date=2021-01-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210121055948/https://www.southalabama.edu/colleges/soc/research/ttp/beckybacememorium.html|url-status=live}}
• Luciana Borio{{Cite web|last=York|first=Carnegie Corporation of New|title=Luciana Borio|url=https://www.carnegie.org/awards/honoree/luciana-borio/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://archive.today/20201114210839/https://www.carnegie.org/awards/honoree/luciana-borio/|archive-date=2020-11-14|access-date=2021-01-14|website=Carnegie Corporation of New York|language=en}}
• Peter Barris
• Anita K. Jones
• Jami Miscik
• Jeong H. Kim{{cite web|title=Jeong H. Kim Bloomberg Profile|website=Bloomberg News|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/people/person.asp?personId=104260&privcapId=4149164|access-date=2017-06-20|archive-date=2024-02-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240205173057/https://www.bloomberg.com/markets/stocks?cic_redirect=fallback|url-status=live}}

{{reflist|30em}}

• {{Official website|https://www.iqt.org}}

{{Private equity and venture capital}}

{{Central Intelligence Agency}}

Category:1999 establishments in Virginia

Category:Financial services companies established in 1999

Category:Privately held companies based in Virginia

Category:Venture capital firms of the United States

Category:Companies based in Arlington County, Virginia

Category:Central Intelligence Agency