An Inside Look At The CIA's Venture-Capital Arm In-Q-Tel

In-Q-Tel: A Glimpse Inside The CIA’s Venture-Capital Arm -- FOX Business

Many Americans were shocked last week to learn about the size and scope of the U.S. intelligence community’s telephone and Internet surveillance activities.

But investors may also be surprised to learn that same "intel" community operates a formidable venture-capital arm that aims to give the CIA and other spy agencies first dibs on the hottest gadgets and software.

Founded in 1999 as a way for the U.S. to keep up with the rapid innovation in science and technology, In-Q-Tel has been an early backer of start-ups later acquired by Google (GOOG), Oracle (ORCL), IBM (IBM) and Lockheed Martin (LMT).

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Update #1: How the CIA Grows Tech - An inside look at In-Q-Tel -- Defense News
Update #2: In-Q-Tel: The CIA's Tax-Funded Player In Silicon Valley -- NPR

WNU Editor: For more information on In-Q-Tel, Wikipedia has a good description. IN-Q-Tel's website is here, and it's Facebook page is here. Even the CIA's website provides some info on the work that In-Q-Tel does.