Red Owl Analytics lands investment from CIA venture firm In-Q-Tel

Behavioral intelligence firm Red Owl Analytics has entered into a “technology development agreement” with In-Q-Tel, a nonprofit, private investment firm chartered in 1999 at the request of the Central Intelligence Agency.
According to a press release from the Federal Hill-based analytics startup, In-Q-Tel has also made an investment in Red Owl, although the amount was not disclosed.
That makes two big investments for Red Owl Analytics in the past several months. The startup, founded in 2011, was one of three winners of the state’s inaugural InvestMaryland Challenge, and received $100,000 from the Maryland Venture Fund for taking the top prize in the IT category.

Gigaom reports that the In-Q-Tel investment will go toward further development of Red Owl’s “Reveal” software product, which identifies “unusual behaviors within phone calls, e-mails and other forms of information in near-real-time.”
It makes sense, then, that In-Q-Tel would enter into a strategic partnership with Red Owl: while In-Q-Tel is an independent organization, it’s essentially the venture arm of the CIA, and invests in companies developing technologies that have practical applications for the U.S. intelligence sector.
Not to mention that Red Owl’s cofounder and CEO, Guy Filippelli, was at one time special assistant to the director of the National Security Agency.
“We’re enthusiastic about the IQT partnership and the opportunity to
further develop our technology for the government market,” said Filippelli in a statement.