In early April 2025, In-Q-Tel announced its 800th investment since the CIA venture capital arm’s founding in 1999, marking a major expansion of intelligence community financial entanglement with private technology companies. The milestone investment came as In-Q-Tel broadened its focus beyond …
In-Q-TelCentral Intelligence AgencyChristopher Darbyin-q-telciaventure-capitalai-surveillancequantum-computing+2 more
In November 2021, the senior leadership of In-Q-Tel—CEO Christopher Darby, President Stephen Bowsher, and technology investor Michael Rolnick—filed for an initial public offering for Chain Bridge I, a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) seeking to raise $200 million. The blank check company …
Christopher DarbyStephen BowsherMichael MorellJeremy BashAlex Younger+2 morein-q-telciarevolving-doorcorruptionspac+2 more
The Central Intelligence Agency awarded its Commercial Cloud Enterprise (C2E) contract to five major technology companies—Oracle, Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, Google, and IBM—on November 20, 2020. The multi-cloud contract, valued at tens of billions of dollars over a 15-year period, represents …
CIAOracleAmazon Web ServicesMicrosoftGoogle+1 moreintelligence-agenciessurveillancecloud-computinggovernment-contractscia+1 more
On November 20, 2018, President Trump issues an extraordinary written statement titled “Statement from President Donald J. Trump on Standing with Saudi Arabia” that explicitly rejects CIA findings and defends Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman despite the intelligence community’s …
Donald TrumpMohammed bin SalmanCIAKing SalmanGina Haspeldonald-trumpsaudi-arabiajamal-khashoggiciaintelligence+4 more
The European Court of Human Rights issues rulings finding that Romania and Lithuania violated the European Convention on Human Rights by hosting CIA secret prisons where terrorism suspects were tortured. The court conclusively determines that Romania operated a CIA black site from September 2003 to …
European Court of Human RightsRomaniaLithuaniaCIAAbu Zubaydah+1 moretortureciablack-sitesinternational-lawromania+2 more
President Donald Trump announces his nomination of Gina Haspel to serve as CIA Director, making her the first woman nominated for the position despite her direct involvement in the CIA’s torture program and destruction of interrogation videotapes. Haspel ran the CIA’s “Cat’s …
Gina HaspelDonald TrumpMike PompeoCIAJohn Kiriakoutortureciatrumpblack-sitesimpunity+2 more
The Senate Intelligence Committee report reveals that CIA torture was far more brutal and sadistic than the agency disclosed, documenting techniques that go beyond the authorized list to include rectal feeding and rehydration used as punishment, mock executions, threats to sexually assault …
CIAGul RahmanSenate Select Committee on IntelligenceJames MitchellBruce Jessentorturewar-crimesciaenhanced-interrogationblack-sites+1 more
The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence releases a 525-page executive summary of its comprehensive investigation into the CIA’s detention and interrogation program, revealing that the program was far more brutal, widespread, and ineffective than the CIA disclosed. The report, based on a …
Dianne FeinsteinSenate Select Committee on IntelligenceCIAJohn BrennanBarack Obamatortureciawar-crimessenateaccountability+2 more
The European Court of Human Rights issues a landmark ruling finding that Poland violated the European Convention on Human Rights by allowing the CIA to operate a secret torture prison on its territory from December 2002 to September 2003. The court conclusively determines that Poland hosted a CIA …
European Court of Human RightsPolandCIAAbu ZubaydahAbd al-Rahim al-Nashiri+1 moretortureciablack-sitesinternational-lawpoland+2 more
The Senate Intelligence Committee’s investigation reveals that the CIA paid private contractors James Mitchell and Bruce Jessen $81 million to design, implement, and assess the effectiveness of the enhanced interrogation program. The psychologists had no interrogation experience, no background …
James MitchellBruce JessenCIAGeorge Tenettortureciaenhanced-interrogationprofiteeringwar-crimes
The New York Times publishes an explosive investigation revealing that President Obama personally approves every name on a secret “kill list” for drone strikes during regular Tuesday National Security Council meetings dubbed “Terror Tuesdays.” The article exposes how the …
Barack ObamaJohn BrennanCIAJSOCTom Donilondronesobamatargeted-killingkill-listcia+2 more
President Obama secretly authorizes the CIA to conduct “signature strikes”—drone attacks that target groups of people based on patterns of suspicious behavior rather than confirmed identification of specific individuals. This policy shift enables the CIA to strike gatherings of …
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On July 1, 2009, In-Q-Tel and Google Ventures simultaneously invested in Recorded Future, a startup founded by Christopher Ahlberg that specialized in using artificial intelligence to monitor the open web, dark web, and social media to predict future events. Each firm invested under $10 million in …
In-Q-TelGoogle VenturesRecorded FutureChristopher Ahlbergin-q-telciagooglesocial-media-surveillanceai-surveillance+2 more
President Barack Obama authorizes the Department of Justice to release four previously classified memos from the Office of Legal Counsel written between 2002 and 2005 that authorized CIA torture techniques including waterboarding, stress positions, sleep deprivation, and confinement in coffin-sized …
Barack ObamaEric HolderCIAJohn YooJay Bybee+2 moretortureciaobamaimpunitywar-crimes+2 more
President Barack Obama dramatically expands the CIA’s drone strike program in his first year in office, authorizing more strikes than George W. Bush conducted during his entire presidency. The expansion transforms armed drones from a limited counterterrorism tool into a systematic …
Barack ObamaCIAJohn BrennanLeon Panettadronesobamaciawar-crimestargeted-killing+3 more
In 2008, Palantir Technologies officially released Palantir Gotham, its flagship platform designed for large-scale data analysis, integration, and visualization for government military and intelligence operations. The CIA became one of Gotham’s first customers in 2008, using the platform to …
Palantir TechnologiesCentral Intelligence Agencyintelligence communitypalantirpalantir-gothamsurveillance-infrastructureciadata-analysis+1 more
Gul Rahman, an Afghan detainee, dies of hypothermia at a CIA black site in Afghanistan known as the “Salt Pit” after being shackled half-naked to a concrete floor in a freezing cell overnight. Rahman’s death is ruled a homicide by the CIA’s medical examiner, yet no one is …
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President George W. Bush publicly acknowledges for the first time that the CIA has been operating secret prisons to hold and interrogate terrorism suspects, confirming what journalists and human rights organizations had been reporting for years. In a White House speech, Bush admits that “a …
George W. BushCIAKhalid Sheikh MohammedAbu ZubaydahAbd al-Rahim al-Nashiritortureciablack-sitesbushguantanamo+1 more
CIA National Clandestine Service director Jose Rodriguez orders the destruction of 92 videotapes documenting hundreds of hours of brutal interrogations of Abu Zubaydah and Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri at secret CIA black sites. The tapes contain graphic evidence of waterboarding, stress positions, and …
Jose RodriguezCIAGina HaspelAbu ZubaydahAbd al-Rahim al-Nashiri+1 moretortureciaobstruction-of-justiceevidence-destructionwar-crimes+2 more
Vice President Dick Cheney and CIA Director Porter Goss personally lobby Senator John McCain in an extraordinary attempt to exempt CIA officers from proposed legislation banning “cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment” of any detainee held by the U.S. government. Despite the Senate voting …
Dick CheneyJohn McCainPorter GossCIADavid Addingtontortureciacheneyenhanced-interrogationcongress+2 more
Washington Post journalist Dana Priest publishes a groundbreaking investigation revealing the CIA operates a “hidden global internment network” of secret prisons, including facilities in “several democracies in Eastern Europe.” The article exposes the existence of CIA black …
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In 2005, In-Q-Tel, the venture capital arm of the Central Intelligence Agency, invested approximately $2 million in Palantir Technologies, providing the young company with critical early funding and legitimacy within the intelligence community. This investment came after traditional Silicon Valley …
In October 2004, Google acquired Keyhole Inc. for an undisclosed amount, bringing In-Q-Tel’s CIA-backed geospatial technology into one of the world’s largest tech companies. The acquisition meant that In-Q-Tel’s equity stake in Keyhole converted to Google shares, making the …
GoogleKeyhole Inc.In-Q-TelCentral Intelligence Agencygooglein-q-telciasurveillance-infrastructureacquisition+1 more
Canadian inquiry conclusively determines that Maher Arar, a Syrian-born Canadian citizen, was wrongly rendered by the United States to Syria where he was tortured for nearly a year based on false intelligence provided by Canadian police. The inquiry finds Arar had no connection to terrorism and that …
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Palantir Technologies was officially incorporated in May 2003 by Peter Thiel and PayPal alumni, just months after Congress defunded DARPA’s Total Information Awareness (TIA) program due to privacy concerns. The founders met with John Poindexter, the recently fired director of Total Information …
Peter ThielAlex KarpNathan GettingsJoe LonsdaleStephen Cohen+3 morepalantirpeter-thielalex-karpsurveillance-infrastructurefounding+4 more
Abu Zubaydah remains held in U.S. custody more than two decades after his capture in Pakistan in March 2002, despite never being charged with any crime. Zubaydah was the CIA’s first “high-value detainee” and the primary test subject for the torture program, waterboarded 83 times …
Abu ZubaydahCIAJames MitchellBruce JessenGina Haspeltortureciablack-siteswaterboardingguantanamo+2 more
In February 2003, just weeks before the U.S. invasion of Iraq, In-Q-Tel made a strategic investment in Keyhole, Inc., a struggling California startup that had developed EarthViewer, a groundbreaking 3D earth visualization system. The investment, made using funding from the National Imagery and …
In-Q-TelKeyhole Inc.National Geospatial-Intelligence AgencyCNNin-q-telciasurveillance-technologyiraq-warsatellite-surveillance+1 more
Following the authorization provided by the August 2002 Yoo-Bybee torture memos, the CIA begins systematically implementing “enhanced interrogation techniques” on terrorism suspects held at secret black site prisons. The program, developed by psychologists James Mitchell and Bruce Jessen …
CIAAbu ZubaydahAbd al-Rahim al-NashiriJames MitchellBruce Jessen+1 moretorturewar-crimesciaenhanced-interrogationwaterboarding+2 more
Vice President Dick Cheney systematically orchestrated the creation and authorization of the CIA’s ’enhanced interrogation’ torture program through National Security Council Principals Committee meetings and legal manipulation. Working closely with legal counsel David Addington and …
Dick CheneyGeorge W. BushDavid AddingtonJohn YooCIA+3 moretorturewar-crimesciaenhanced-interrogationblack-sites+5 more
Following the September 11 attacks, President Bush authorizes the CIA to conduct “extraordinary rendition”—the extrajudicial kidnapping and transfer of terrorism suspects to foreign countries for detention and interrogation, often involving torture. CIA Director George Tenet and …
CIAGeorge W. BushGeorge TenetCofer Blacktortureciarenditionkidnappingwar-crimes+2 more
Oracle Corporation hired David W. Carney as Vice President of Information Assurance on September 4, 2001, just one week before the September 11 terrorist attacks, marking a significant deepening of Oracle’s relationship with the U.S. intelligence community. Carney retired after 32 years at the …
OracleDavid W. CarneyCIALarry Ellisonoracleciarevolving-doorintelligence-agenciesnational-security
In September 1999, the Central Intelligence Agency established In-Q-Tel (IQT), a groundbreaking not-for-profit venture capital firm designed to bridge Silicon Valley innovation with intelligence community needs. The initiative was championed by CIA Director George Tenet, who recognized that …
Central Intelligence AgencyGeorge TenetGilman LouieNorman AugustineIn-Q-Telciain-q-telintelligence-privatizationsurveillance-infrastructureventure-capital
Investigative journalist Gary Webb publishes his explosive three-part “Dark Alliance” series in the San Jose Mercury News, examining connections between the CIA, U.S.-backed Nicaraguan Contra rebels, and the crack cocaine epidemic that devastated African American communities during the …
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Customs and bank regulators in seven countries simultaneously raid and shut down the Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI), exposing what becomes known as the largest corporate criminal enterprise in history. The shutdown follows a Price Waterhouse investigation ordered by the Bank of …
William CaseyManuel NoriegaAdnan KhashoggiManucher Ghorbanifarcorruptionmoney-launderingCIAdrug-traffickingIran-Contra+1 more
The United States launches Operation Just Cause, deploying nearly 26,000 combat troops in the largest and most complex military operation since the Vietnam War to capture Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega. The invasion targets two dozen locations throughout Panama in a massive show of force …
George H.W. BushManuel Noriegaforeign-policyCIAdrug-traffickingmilitary-interventionLatin-America
CIA Director William Casey dies at age 74 from nervous-system lymphoma, taking critical knowledge of the Iran-Contra scandal to his grave without ever testifying before Congress. Casey dies less than 24 hours after former colleague Richard Secord testifies that Casey supported the illegal aiding of …
William CaseyRonald ReaganRichard SecordIran-ContraCIAReagan-administrationaccountabilitycover-up
Computer programmers Larry Ellison and Robert Miner founded the company that would become Oracle Corporation in 1977 after persuading the CIA to let them pick up a lapsed $50,000 contract to build a special database program. The company takes its name from “Project Oracle,” a CIA …
Larry EllisonRobert MinerCIAOraclesurveillanceintelligence-agenciescorporate-originsciaoracle