2021-02-10 In-Q-Tel Plain 'Splainer

Welcome to the Dystopian Times channel. I'll be bringing you the news and insight into "The Theory and Practice of Oligarchical Collectivism". What's that? That's the Book supposedly written by Emmanuel Goldstein, the fictional character in George Orwell's 1984. In present dystopian times, it's the comparison between what Big Brother says they are doing and why, versus how those same policies and laws actually impact our lives and those of future generations. Here, we examine the theory versus the practice of the oligarchical collective...the club that you aren't a member of. Learn more about that and the topic of this video from the links below.

Wikipedia, In-Q-Tel:
In-Q-Tel (IQT), formerly Peleus and In-Q-It, is an American not-for-profit venture capital firm based in Arlington, Virginia. It invests in high-tech companies to keep the Central Intelligence Agency, and other intelligence agencies, equipped with the latest in information technology in support of United States intelligence capability.[4] The name "In-Q-Tel" is an intentional reference to Q, the fictional inventor who supplies technology to James Bond.[5]
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In-Q-Tel

In-Q-Tel recent investments
-- In-Q-Tel has made 194 investments. Their most recent investment was on Feb 1, 2021, when Quantifind raised $22M.
-- In-Q-Tel has made 15 diversity investments. Their most recent diversity investment was on Sep 3, 2020, when ThruWave raised $6.4M.
-- In-Q-Tel has had 66 exits. In-Q-Tel's most notable exits include FireEye, MongoDB, and Recorded Future.
Source: https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/in-q-tel/recent_investments

February 22, 2017 - How Peter Thiel’s company Palantir was built with CIA funding and has helped the likes of the NSA and GCHQ spy since its inception
-- Palantir, co-founded by Peter Thiel in 2004, is a Silicon Valley software company
-- Its clientele includes US intelligence agencies, military, and law enforcement
-- The company produces software that mines vast amounts of data
-- New report says it was founded with the help of the CIA

Silicon Valley billionaire Peter Thiel reportedly solicited financial assistance from the CIA to help found his secretive firm Palantir, which helped the National Security Agency’s controversial domestic surveillance program.

Not only did US intelligence agencies help the company financially when it was in its infancy, but it also reportedly collaborated with it in developing software used to gather sensitive information.

The software is so advanced that the NSA has bragged that Palantir has helped it make use of its 'widest reaching' data mining program that enables the agency to capture 'nearly everything a typical user does on the internet.'

The revelations were reported on Wednesday by The Intercept.
...
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4250750/Peter-Thiel-s-company-Palantir-built-CIA-funding.html

August 24, 2020 - SEC filing of Palantir Investors' Rights Agreement showing In-Q-Tel employee fund as shareholders of Palantir
NOTE: Search document for "In-Q-Tel Employee Fund, LLC"
Source: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0001321655/000119312520244936/d904406dex42.htm

September 30, 2020 - SEC filing of Palantir STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIPSource: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1211060/000120919120053427/xslF345X03/doc4.xml

May 09, 2005 - Bloomberg Business Week - Meet The CIA's Venture Capitalist
As In-Q-Tel's investments grow, so does public scrutiny. The venture is always walking a fine line between the public and private sector. Set up as a nonprofit, it invests taxpayer money with all decisions about where to reinvest being made by an independent board of trustees. All of the proceeds go back to In-Q-Tel to fund new companies, but not a dollar moves before copious reports are filed.

Compensating the CIA's dealmakers is a trickier issue. Typically venture capitalists get a salary and a hefty stake in the returns from companies they fund. To be competitive, In-Q-Tel had to do something similar. And, Louie says, having some skin in the game keeps staffers motivated to do the best deals. So from 20% to 40% of an employee's salary goes into a mandatory fund. For every $3 invested in a company, $1 from an employee fund is also invested.

CONTINUED MOMENTUM. The New York Post published a story on May 2 criticizing In-Q-Tel for apparent conflicts of interest resulting from this structure. Louie takes it in stride, though, saying close scrutiny is right when taxpayer money is in question. And he notes that he donates all proceeds from his portion of the employee fund to charity, just to avoid any appearance of a conflict at the top.

Such criticisms haven't been enough to slow In-Q-Tel's momentum as its influence continues to grow within both Silicon Valley and Washington. When Louie started in 1999, he had nine employees and three consultants. Today the firm employs 50.

In-Q-Tel now gets funds from other government agencies, such as the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency, a branch of the Defense Dept. that studies data from satellites. In-Q-Tel's annual budget has increased from roughly $27 million to $60 million. Louie can't give exact numbers because, well, that's classified information.
Sources:
Original: http://www.businessweek.com/stories/2005-05-09/meet-the-cias-venture-capitalist
Archived: https://web.archive.org/web/20120707085423/http://www.businessweek.com/stories/2005-05-09/meet-the-cias-venture-capitalist

Scholarly Commons Law: In-Q-Tel: The Central Intelligence Agency as Venture Capitalist
SPRING 2013, VOLUME 33, iSSUE 3
Abstract: The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the United States’ principal foreign intelligence and spy organization, chartered the first government-sponsored venture capital firm, dubbed In-Q-Tel, in February 1999. In-Q-Tel represents the twenty-first century fusion of U.S. spy efforts with the venture capital industry. Envisioned as a platform to expand the research and development (R&D) efforts of the CIA into the private sector, In-Q-Tel uses CIA-supplied funds to make strategic investments in startup companies developing commercially focused technologies that are of interest to the CIA and greater intelligence community.
Source: https://scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=&httpsredir=1&article=1739&context=njilb

Aug 26, 2020 - The Government-Backed VC Firm Behind the Modernization of Mapping All (Mapped) Roads Lead to In-Q-Tel
Source: https://joemorrison.medium.com/the-government-backed-vc-firm-behind-the-modernization-of-mapping-85666167f000

The CIA's In-Q-Tel Model & Its Applicability
Source: https://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a423535.pdf

December 9, 2019 - Agency-Related Nonprofit Research Foundations and Corporations
Appendix. Federally Initiated and Funded Venture Capital Firms
Over the last two decades, federal agencies and Congress have established several venture capital (VC) firms. The intent of these firms, including In-Q-Tel (IQT), the Army Venture Capital Initiative (AVCI), and Red Planet Capital (RPC), has been to help ensure agency access to leading-edge technologies and input into technology development to address mission needs. Several factors have contributed to the initiation of these organizations: a long-term shift in the composition of U.S. research and development funding from the federal government to the private sector; the substantial role of small start-ups in driving innovation, especially in information technology; and expanded U.S. and global commercial market opportunities that have diminished the relative attractiveness of serving the federal government market. In-Q-Tel. The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), with congressional approval, established the first federal government-sponsored VC firm, In-Q-Tel, in 1999. 129 IQT is an independent, not-forprofit, non-stock company. It is a strategic investor that works closely with intelligence community (IC) entities and the Department of Defense (DOD). IQT’s portfolio includes data analytics, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, machine learning, ubiquitous computing, information technology solutions, communications, novel materials, electronics, commercial space, remote sensing, power and energy, and biotechnology.130 While the CIA has broad statutory authority in how it may expend its funds,131 according to a RAND Corporation report, the agency reportedly used an approach based on DOD’s “other transaction” authority (10 U.S.C. 2371) for developing its contract with IQT. 132 IQT has a management team and a board of trustees. The CIA is the executive agent for IQT.133 Federal agencies, primarily the CIA, provide funding to IQT, which in turn provides investments to selected firms based on needs articulated by the CIA. The In-Q-Tel Interface Center (QIC), a small group of CIA employees, serves as a liaison between the CIA and IQT. IQT investments generally range from $500,000 to $3 million. IQT asserts that for each dollar it has invested, private investors have provided $16. IQT pairs its investment with a development agreement in which IQT and the company work together to adapt the technology to meet IC needs. If successful, IC customers can buy the product directly from the company.134 IQT asserts that its model delivers rapid, cost-effective solutions: IQT identifies and adapts “ready-soon” technologies—off-the-shelf products that can be modified, tested, and delivered for use within 6 to 36 months depending on the difficulty of the problem. Approximately 75% of our deals involve multiple agencies from the [IC] and defense communities, which means a more cost efficient use of taxpayers’ dollars.135 Profits from the liquidation of an IQT investment are allocated between additional IQT investing activity and other strategic information technology initiatives defined by the CIA, in accordance with a memorandum of understanding between the CIA and IQT.136

FOOTNOTE on page 25:
132 Tim Webb, Christopher Guo, and Jennifer Lamping Lewis, et al., RAND Corporation, Venture Capital and Strategic Investment for Developing Government Mission Capabilities, prepared for the Office of the Secretary of Defense, 2014, p. 27. Under certain circumstances, DOD can enter into another transaction (OT) agreement instead of a traditional contract. OT agreements are generally exempt from federal procurement laws and regulations. These exemptions grant government officials the flexibility to include, amend, or exclude contract clauses and requirements that are mandatory in traditional procurements (e.g., termination clauses, cost accounting standards, payments, audit requirements, intellectual property, and contract disputes). OT authorities also grant more flexibility to structure agreements in numerous ways, including joint ventures; partnerships; consortia; or multiple agencies joining together to fund an agreement encompassing multiple providers. For more information see, CRS Report R45521, Department of Defense Use of Other Transaction Authority: Background, Analysis, and Issues for Congress, by Heidi M. Peters.
Source: https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R46109

Wikipedia, Conflict of interest:
A widely used definition is: "A conflict of interest is a set of circumstances that creates a risk that professional judgement or actions regarding a primary interest will be unduly influenced by a secondary interest." Primary interest refers to the principal goals of the profession or activity, such as the protection of clients, the health of patients, the integrity of research, and the duties of public officer. Secondary interest includes personal benefit and is not limited to only financial gain but also such motives as the desire for professional advancement, or the wish to do favours for family and friends. These secondary interests are not treated as wrong in and of themselves, but become objectionable when they are believed to have greater weight than the primary interests. Conflict of interest rules in the public sphere mainly focus on financial relationships since they are relatively more objective, fungible, and quantifiable, and usually involve the political, legal, and medical fields.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conflict_of_interest

Wikipedia, Insider Trading:
Insider trading is the trading of a public company's stock or other securities (such as bonds or stock options) based on material, nonpublic information about the company.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insider_trading

2010-03-04 - Form APP WD - Withdrawal of an Application for exemption [Section 12(g)] or from filing certain reports [Section 13(a)]:SEC Accession No. 0001157998-10-000005
IN Q TEL INC (Filer) CIK:
IN Q TEL EMPLOYEE FUND LLC (Filer) CIK:
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0001157999/000115799810000005/0001157998-10-000005-index.html

Re: In-Q-Tel Inc. and In-Q-Tel Employee Fund, LLC; File No. 813-00344
Reference is made to the application for an order of exemption pursuant to Sections 6(b) and 6(e) of the Investment Company Act of 1940 for In-Q-Tel, Inc. and In-Q-Tel Employee Fund, LLC (the Applicants), File No. 813-00344 (as amended, the (Application).

The Applicants wish to withdraw the Application because: (1) In-Q-Tel Employee Fund, LLC (the Fund) has fewer than one hundred (100) beneficial owners; (2) In-Q-Tel, Inc. does not plan to create additional funds or permit an increase in the number of beneficial
owners of the Fund; and (3) the Applicants do not plan any public offering.
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1157998/000115799810000005/inqtel.txt