Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Some CIA Facebook Tinfoil

This article, from 1999, is one source of the story:
The CIA is opening a venture capital business targeting emerging technologies -- and has hired a well-known Silicon Valley executive to run the operation.

Two people figure prominently in the article, Gilman Louie and Jim Breyer. Louie was hired by the CIA to manage the venture capital fund, named In-Q-It, while Breyer was used to buttress Louie's credentials in the context of the article. Both men served on the board of the National Capital Venture Association where, judging by the article, they developed a strong friendship or working relationship. Breyer also managed a VC fund named Accel Partners that went on to put 12 million dollars of seed money into Facebook.

The direct links are pretty weak. What seems clear is that the CIA made connections with a young generation of Silicon Valley venture capitalists at the end of the 1990's. How those connections have and will be utilized remains shrouded in secrecy.

1 "CIA starts 'fun' high-tech fund" - ZD Net UK

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