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This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.

Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

FACT BRIEF

Does the CIA finance information technology startups?

Friday, December 4, 2020

By Esther Tsvayg

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YES

In-Q-Tel is a legally independent venture-capital firm established in 1999 with the intent of equipping the CIA with up-to-date “emerging information technologies.” The firm receives annual funding from the agency; the amount was reported in 2005 to be about $37 million but has not been disclosed since. It is “not a government entity” but a non-profit with 501(c)3 designation and “partner” of the CIA and other government agencies, according to its website.

The CIA chartered the firm to incentivize the private sector to provide innovative solutions for national security issues, replacing slower traditional government procurement processes. In-Q-Tel's primary goal is to match CIA objectives, not to maximize return on investment.

Lucia Borio, a member of President-elect Biden´s COVID-19 task force, currently serves as the vice president of technical staff at In-Q-Tel.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

CIA: Library—A new partnership between the CIA and the private sector

In-Q-Tel: How we work

Northwestern: In-Q-Tel—The Central Intelligence Agency as venture capitalist

In-Q-Tel: Investment portfolio

Harvard Business School: In-Q-Tel—How to keep your spies in the know

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Gigafact

Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

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About fact briefs published on Gigafact

Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.