The CIA Loves Investing In Retail-Friendly Startups, Too
There's more going on at Langley than Hellfire missile strikes and eavesdropping: the CIA has a lively presence in Silicon Valley. The most recent cash-drop? The spook VC is cozying up with a company that helps manage data for the likes of Walgreens and Best Buy.
Apigee's technology helps ferry the information corporations store about customers, inventory, and other logistical gem. In-Q-Tel, the quas-independent CIA's investing arm, wants a piece of the data shuffle—what it's calling a "strategic partnership and technology development agreement."
I asked Apigee what exactly this entailed—whether In-Q-Tel would receive an equity stake in the company that has its hands all over civilian data. No dice: "Unfortunately we are not able to comment on the IQT investment in Apigee beyond what we have in the press release," a rep told me. Secretive already. [IW]