NASA Launches VC Fund
from the RocketMan dept
While there are already federally-funded programs like SBIR and STTR, venture capital has a bit more of a ring to it than grant money. So the CIA has In-Q-Tel, and the US Army started a venture fund about a year ago. With the X-Prize (and more prizes on the way) garnering so much attention, NASA must have been feeling a bit left out. But no longer. NASA has announced its own venture capital agency to help spur scientific development. The next agency with a VC fund could be the NIH, but that would probably bring up another stem cell debate if a medical-related VC firm avoided that line of research.