Visible Technologies Inks In-Q-Tel Deal

Bellevue, WA-based Visible Technologies has formed a strategic partnership with In-Q-Tel, the investment firm run by the CIA. The deal includes a technology development agreement, but financial terms were not given. Visible makes software that helps companies and organizations monitor the social media landscape (and Web sentiment towards specific topics and brands), as well as manage their online reputations. Last week, Visible said it had raised an additional $2 million from existing investors, bringing its total funding to $23.5 million. The company also said it had achieved more than 60 percent year-over-year revenue growth, and signed up 24 Fortune 1000 customers in the third quarter of 2009, including Xerox and Autodesk.

Author: Gregory T. Huang

Greg is a veteran journalist who has covered a wide range of science, technology, and business. As former editor in chief, he overaw daily news, features, and events across Xconomy's national network. Before joining Xconomy, he was a features editor at New Scientist magazine, where he edited and wrote articles on physics, technology, and neuroscience. Previously he was senior writer at Technology Review, where he reported on emerging technologies, R&D, and advances in computing, robotics, and applied physics. His writing has also appeared in Wired, Nature, and The Atlantic Monthly’s website. He was named a New York Times professional fellow in 2003. Greg is the co-author of Guanxi (Simon & Schuster, 2006), about Microsoft in China and the global competition for talent and technology. Before becoming a journalist, he did research at MIT’s Artificial Intelligence Lab. He has published 20 papers in scientific journals and conferences and spoken on innovation at Adobe, Amazon, eBay, Google, HP, Microsoft, Yahoo, and other organizations. He has a Master’s and Ph.D. in electrical engineering and computer science from MIT, and a B.S. in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.