In-Q-Tel (IQT), formerly Peleus and known as In-Q-It, is an American not-for-profit venture capital firm based in Arlington, Virginia. It invests in high-tech companies for the sole purpose of keeping the Central Intelligence Agency, and other intelligence agencies, equipped with the latest in information technology in support of United States intelligence capability. The name, "In-Q-Tel" is an intentional reference to Q, the fictional inventor who supplies technology to James Bond.
The firm is seen as a trend-setter in the information technology industry, with the average dollar invested by In-Q-Tel in 2012 attracting nine dollars of investment from other companies.
Video In-Q-Tel
History
Originally named Peleus and known as In-Q-It, In-Q-Tel was founded by Norm Augustine, a former CEO of Lockheed Martin and by Gilman Louie, who was In-Q-Tel's first CEO. In-Q-Tel's mission is to identify and invest in companies developing cutting-edge technologies that serve United States national security interests. Origins of the corporation can be traced to Dr. Ruth A. David, who headed the Central Intelligence Agency Directorate of Science & Technology in the 1990s and promoted the importance of rapidly advancing information technology for the CIA. 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. In-Q-Tel concentrates on three broad commercial technology areas: software, infrastructure and materials sciences.
Former CIA director George Tenet says,
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.
In-Q-Tel sold 5,636 shares of Google, worth over $2.2 million, on November 15, 2005. The stocks were a result of Google's acquisition of Keyhole, the CIA funded satellite mapping software now known as Google Earth.
As of August 2006, In-Q-Tel had reviewed more than 5,800 business plans, invested some $150 million in more than 90 companies, and delivered more than 130 technology solutions to the intelligence community. In 2005 it was said to be funded with about $37 million a year from the CIA.
Maps In-Q-Tel
Governance
In-Q-Tel is a Virginia-registered corporation, 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. While In-Q-Tel is a nonprofit corporation, it differs from IARPA and other models in that its employees can profit from its investments. According to public records, In-Q-Tel's principals include or have included:
- Christopher A. R. Darby, President and CEO
- Bruce Adams, Legal and General Counsel
- Michael M. Crow, Chairman of the Board
- Paul G. Kaminski, Director
- Jeong H. Kim, Previous Member of the Board of Trustees
Investments
Many companies listed on In-Q-Tel's investment website page are secret. In-Q-Tel functions partially in public; however, what products it has and how they are used is strictly secret. 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."
Software
Material science
- Biotech
- Biomatrica - biolab tech anhydrobiosis storage
- SpectraFluidics - detection of trace airborne chemicals
- Arcxis Biotechnologies - sample processing and pathogen detection
- febit group - DNA
- Boreal Genomics - DNA fingerprints
- T2 Biosystems - medical diagnostic devices, miniaturized magnetic resonance (MR)
- OpGen - microbial genome analysis
- Infobionics - biotech cellular database
- Microchip Biotechnologies - analysis instrumentation for biodefense
- Cambrios Technologies - biomaterials for solid-state electronic devices
- Seahawk Biosystems - diagnosis biosensor products
- Sionex - chemical and biological sensors
- Polychromix - material analysis and chemical sensing
- IatroQuest - detect biological and chemical agents
- IntegenX - NanoBioProcessor & molecular diagnostics
- Seventh Sense Biosystems - health monitoring and medical diagnostics
- Sonitus Medical - transmits sound via the teeth
- MedShape - orthopedic devices from shape memory materials
- Electricity
- Electro Energy - nickel-metal hydride batteries for satellites & aircraft
- Qynergy Corporation - long-lived batteries, Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems
- Infinite Power Solutions - micro-batteries
- Skybuilt Power - solar, wind, fuel cells, batteries, fossil fuels, telecommunications - Mobile Power Station(MPS) 3.5 kW to 150 kW
- Semprius - solar energy
- AdaptivEnergy - miniature piezo generators
- Power Assure - managing power consumption
- MiserWare - reduces energy
- Electronics
- Nanosys - nanotech components
- Alfalight - high-power lasers & torches
- IDELIX Software - pliable display technology
- Perceptive Pixel - multi-touch displays
- WiSpry - radio components
- Nextreme Thermal Solutions - circuit-board thermoelectric components
- Digital Solid State Propulsion - electronic controls for solid rocket motors
- Infinite Z - virtual-holographic monitors
- Voxel8 - 3D printed electronics
- Video
- 3VR Security - DVR archiving
- MotionDSP - digital video
- Pixim - video cameras
- COPAN - data storage
- iMove - immersive video
- Pelican Imaging - better camera phones
- LensVector - optical autofocus
- InView Technology Corporation - cameras and hyper-spectral imagers
- Rhevision - tunable camera lens
- Signal Innovations Group - signal, image, and video analytics
- Elemental Technologies - video processing
- KZO Innovations - streaming video software
- VSee - video conferencing
Infrastructure
- Hardware
- Tyfone -- digital security for mobility, cloud, and IoT
- Genia Photonics - fiber-optics products
- Advanced Photonix, Inc. - fiber optics
- SitScape - Command & Control room hardware
- SpotterRF - micro surveillance radar
- QD Vision - monitors, displays and lighting
- GATR Technologies - inflatable satellite dishes
- CoreStreet - door access control systems
- Redlen Technologies - CZT x-ray & gamma ray detectors
- Etherstack - radios
- Paratek microwave - smart scanning antennas
- D-Wave Systems - quantum computers
- Sensor networks
- ThingMagic - RFID
- Dust Networks - low-power wireless mesh networking systems
- Ember Corporation - ZigBee - wireless semiconductor
- Gainspan - low power Wi-Fi
- Tendril Networks - software for wireless sensor and control networks
- TenXsys - telemetry systems for remote monitoring, NASA
- StreamBase - real-time data in government/military, RFID/sensor networks
- Thetus - software for remote sensing instruments
- Soflinx defender - a Wireless Sensor Network for fences
- PlateScan - automatic license plate recognition (ALPR) sensor network
- Data centers
- Bay Microsystems - packet processing and data traffic
- Cleversafe - data storage clouds and massive digital archives
- Cloudera - data storage and analysis
- Asankya - Hypermesh data streams
- CopperEye - data retention
- Systems Research and Development - real-time data warehousing
- Network Appliance - Decru (networked data storage)
- Security testing
- Network Chemistry - RFprotect, WiFi security
- Veracode - application security testing
Numerous noteworthy business and intelligence community professionals have been involved with In-Q-Tel at various times, including the following:
- Dan Geer (2008-present) Chief Information Security Officer
- Michael D. Griffin - former President; later Administrator of NASA.
- Norman R. Augustine
- Gilman Louie
- Amit Yoran
- John Seely Brown
- Stephen Friedman
- Paul McMahon
- William Perry
- Alex J. Mandl
- Rob Painter - former Director for Technology Assessment; left to become Senior Federal Sales Manager at Google.
- Christopher K. Tucker, first chief strategic officer
- Rebecca Bace
References
External links
- Official website
- White Paper on the In-Q-Tel concept from the CIA's website
- In-Q-Tel from Federal Computer Week
- In-Q-Tel from govexec.com
- The Report of the Independent Panel on the CIA In-Q-Tel Venture from Business Executives for National Security (bens.org)
- Press releases
- Lerner, Josh, G. Felda Hardymon, Kevin Book, and Ann Leamon. "In-Q-Tel." Harvard Business School Case 804-146, February 2004. (Revised May 2005.)
- Venture Funds and Other Advanced Technologies for National Intelligence Services (September 5, 2012).
Source of article : Wikipedia
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