In-Q-Tel (IQT) — a non-profit organisation aimed at bridging security needs of the US and its allies — has opened its first Asia-Pacific office in Singapore.
The American corporate venture firm has a portfolio of over 700 companies across the US, Europe, and Australia, focuses on early-stage deep-tech companies. Some of its well-known portfolio firms include Palantir, Rigetti Computing, GitLab, DataBricks, and Keyhole (acquired in 2003 by Google to form Google Maps).
Its latest foray into Singapore signals the emerging maturity of Asia’s deeptech ecosystem as well as the rising importance of the Southeast Asian city-state to US strategic interests.
IQT was founded in 1999 by the CIA and various US government agencies to stay abreast of cutting-edge innovation coming out of Silicon Valley. Its goal as a strategic investor is to identify and nurture solutions which will support the national security mission of the US and its allies.
The Virginia-based firm is funded by US government agencies and a number of its allies including the UK and Australia. It is registered as charity with the US SEC and is overseen by an independent board of trustees, comprising senior executives in major US tech corporates and venture capital firms like Oracle, New Enterprise Associates (NEA) and Greylock.
