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.

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 current principals include:

Christopher A. R. Darby, President/CEO

Bruce Adams, Secretary

Michael M. Crow, Chairman

Paul G. Kaminski, Director

Jeong H. Kim, Director

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."

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

RedSeal – Cybersecurity Analytics

Network Chemistry – RFprotect, WiFi security

Veracode – application security testing

Other related personnel

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