On Sat, 19 Aug 2000, No User wrote:
> U.S. spy agency's venture capital fund now bankrolling 8 high tech startups
> August 18, 2000: 3:17 p.m. ET
>
> NEW YORK (CNNfn) - It is probably among the last places most entrepreneurs
>would think of tapping for venture capital funding. Regardless, the Central
>Intelligence Agency has gotten into the game of providing much- needed seed money for
>high technology startups.
>
> It took a lot of arm-twisting to persuade Congress and some in the
> intelligence bureaucracy that starting a venture capital fund to keep
> critical government agencies like the CIA at the forefront of new
> technology would be a good idea. Yet, that task was accomplished and
> Congress approved $28 million last year for the project and In-Q-Tel
> was born.
This seems a natural extension of the programs the NSA and CIA already
run which give scholarships to college-bound students in exchange for
their good will (and in some cases, a work commitment). Why not
invest in something promising...and in the process gain some measure
of access and control. Do you think these startups will have access
to classified information?
-David
