> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.battlepolicy.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # In-Q-Tel's Network, Not Its Capital, Opened Quantum Systems' Path to the CIA and FBI - URL: https://www.battlepolicy.com/in-q-tels-network-not-its-capital-opened-quantum-systems-path-to-the-cia-and-fbi/ - Published: 2026-09-02T05:45:13.000Z - Updated: 2026-09-02T05:45:13.000Z - Description: Quantum Systems' co-CEO says In-Q-Tel's Washington connections, not its capital, built the $8 billion German drone maker's first US government business. - Author: Marcus Schuler - Tags: Europe, USA, Funding, #daily-brief, Partner Signal, Quantum Systems, In-Q-Tel, Vector *The CIA-founded venture firm's checks run under $3 million, but* [*Quantum Systems'*](https://www.battlepolicy.com/quantum-systems/) *co-CEO says its Washington connections built the $8 billion drone maker's first US government business.* Quantum Systems, the German drone maker now valued at roughly $8 billion, built its first US government business on introductions from [In-Q-Tel](https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/cia-backed-investor-helped-top-german-drones-firm-break-into-us-2026-08-31/?ref=battlepolicy.com), the venture firm the CIA founded to invest in national-security technology, co-CEO Sven Kruck told Reuters on Aug. 31\. IQT's connections, he said, helped Quantum win reconnaissance work directly with the Central Intelligence Agency and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, its earliest customers inside the US government. Frequently Asked Questions What did Quantum Systems' co-CEO say about In-Q-Tel? Sven Kruck told Reuters that In-Q-Tel's Washington connections, not its capital, helped the company get started with US clients including the CIA and FBI. What is In-Q-Tel? A venture firm the CIA founded to invest in technologies relevant to US national security. Its checks typically run under $3 million, per Reuters, and it has also backed Palantir, Anduril and German firm Stark. What US government work has Quantum Systems won? A reconnaissance contract with the CIA and FBI, per Kruck, and a US Army mid-range reconnaissance drone contract awarded in March 2026, under which Quantum delivered 88 systems by the end of July, according to CEO Dave Sharpin. Why does this raise concern in Europe? European Parliament security committee chair Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann told Reuters that In-Q-Tel's mandate to secure technology for US intelligence carries strategic influence through investment stakes, observation rights and licensing terms, at a time governments are pushing for less dependence on Washington. What is Quantum Systems doing in Huntsville? It opened a 3,200-square-foot engineering and R&D office in Huntsville, Alabama on Aug. 24, near Redstone Arsenal, to work more closely with the Army and FBI; CEO Dave Sharpin has said it could eventually produce the SkyRanger counter-drone interceptor. AI-generated summary, reviewed by an editor. [More on our AI guidelines](https://www.battlepolicy.com/ai-guidelines/). Below this point 4 more sections. Quantum brings reconnaissance, attack and interceptor drones already fielded by Ukraine and Germany, a combat record IQT executive vice president Jennifer Nelson said made the company worth backing alongside portfolio firms Palantir and Anduril. What Quantum lacked was a route into Washington: as a foreign supplier it had no organic ties to US intelligence and defense buyers. IQT's typical check runs under $3 million, a person familiar with its operations told Reuters, so the firm's value lay in access rather than capital, the contacts that opened the CIA and FBI relationships and established Quantum's US credibility. That credibility fed a separate, larger opportunity: a US Army contract for Quantum's mid-range reconnaissance drone, awarded in March, under which the company built and delivered 88 systems by the end of July, Quantum Systems Inc. chief executive Dave Sharpin said. The company has since concentrated its US counter-drone work around a new [Huntsville, Alabama engineering office](https://prnewswire.com/news-releases/quantum-systems-inc-expands-us-footprint-with-new-huntsville-rd-office-302857417.html?ref=battlepolicy.com), opened Aug. 24 near Redstone Arsenal, placing engineers close to the Army and the FBI, the two US government customers Sharpin named at the office's opening. The relationship carries a dependency Quantum cannot waive: US export-control rules bar it from selling technology it develops inside the United States to other countries without Washington's approval, Reuters reported, tying its American engineering growth to US government sign-off. European Parliament security committee chair Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann said IQT's mandate to secure technology for US intelligence services carries strategic influence beyond ordinary investment, through observation rights and licensing terms neither company detailed further. Nelson said IQT "continues to expand investments in German dual-use innovators." Quantum's Huntsville office, staffed with roughly 10 to 15 engineers as of its Aug. 24 opening, is the site Sharpin has said could eventually produce the company's SkyRanger counter-drone interceptors for its Army and FBI customers.