Startups

The CIA’s new lab is a bid to attract technologists

With this new initiative, CIA officers will gain access to more resources and be able to publicly file patents on the intellectual property they work on while collecting a portion of the profits.

CIA headquarters. (Photo by Pixabay user ID:12019, used under a Creative Commons license)

The Central Intelligence Agency launched a new R&D arm to better attract entrepreneurs and innovators.

CIA Labs is part of the Federal Laboratory Consortium and will focus on technology research, development, testing and engineering to address new challenges and improve on existing solutions, its site reads. With this new installment, the Langley, Virginia-based CIA wants to recruit tech talent “by offering incentives to those who work there,” meaning, CIA officers will gain access to more resources and be able to publicly file patents on the intellectual property they work on while collecting a portion of the profits.

“This is helping maintain US dominance, particularly from a technological perspective,” said Dawn Meyerriecks, head of the agency’s science and technology directorate, told MIT Technology Review. “That’s really critical for national and economic security. It also democratizes the technology by making it available to the planet in a way that allows the level of the water to rise for all.”

Solutions coming out of  CIA Labs will primarily focus on artificial intelligence, data analytics, biotechnology, advanced materials, and high-performance quantum computing. This new installment aligns with the agency’s work to commercialize tech coming from its employees. It also sponsors venture capital firm In-Q-Tel, which has invested in a number of mid-Atlantic startups in the last several years.

CIA officers who develop new technologies at CIA Labs will also be able to license, “making 15% of the total income from the new invention with a cap of $150,000 per year.” This salary competitiveness could be more appealing to technologists thinking about moving to the region.

Before you go...

Please consider supporting Technical.ly to keep our independent journalism strong. Unlike most business-focused media outlets, we don’t have a paywall. Instead, we count on your personal and organizational support.

3 ways to support our work:
  • Contribute to the Journalism Fund. Charitable giving ensures our information remains free and accessible for residents to discover workforce programs and entrepreneurship pathways. This includes philanthropic grants and individual tax-deductible donations from readers like you.
  • Use our Preferred Partners. Our directory of vetted providers offers high-quality recommendations for services our readers need, and each referral supports our journalism.
  • Use our services. If you need entrepreneurs and tech leaders to buy your services, are seeking technologists to hire or want more professionals to know about your ecosystem, Technical.ly has the biggest and most engaged audience in the mid-Atlantic. We help companies tell their stories and answer big questions to meet and serve our community.
The journalism fund Preferred partners Our services
Engagement

Join our growing Slack community

Join 5,000 tech professionals and entrepreneurs in our community Slack today!

Trending

Trump may kill the CHIPS and Science Act. Here’s what that means for your community.

14 tech community events to be thankful for in November

How 4 orgs give back to their local tech community

With fewer federal employees working downtown, DC explores new ways to boost the local economy 

Technically Media