ADVERTISEMENT

Billionaire Steve Cohen hired 2 investors from the CIA's secretive VC fund for a new Palo Alto office

Billionaire Steve Cohen has opened a Palo Alto office and hired two staffers from the CIA's venture capital fund, In-Q-Tel.

Steve Cohen.

Billionaire Steve Cohen has opened a Palo Alto office to invest in early-stage companies focused on big data and machine learning, and he has hired two people who invested on behalf of the CIA.

ADVERTISEMENT

The two men leading the effort are Daniel Gwak and Sri Chandrasekar, who previously worked at In-Q-Tel, a venture capital firm that is mostly funded by the Central Intelligence Agency.

The pair started their new roles on May 1, according to Matthew Granade, Point72's chief market intelligence officer.

The new Silicon Valley office is part of Point72 Ventures, Cohen's venture capital unit, which is legally separate from his $11 billion family office, Point72 Asset Management. Both manage Cohen's billions. Cohen launched Point72 Ventures last year, hiring Pete Casella of JPMorgan Chase Strategic Investments to help lead the effort.

ADVERTISEMENT

Point72 Ventures expects to eventually expand its new Palo Alto office and add more staffers, Granade told Business Insider.

At In-Q-Tel, the CIA venture capital firm, Gwak and Chandrasekar "had a great vantage point in how these companies were getting started, what was working and not working," he added.

Gwak and

At In-Q-Tel, Gwak focused on enterprise analytics and infrastructure companies, and Chandrasekar led an artificial intelligence lab, according to bios provided by Point72.

Their new group is tech-focused, and could involve a range of companies, such as those looking at natural language processing, automating trucks or cars, or synthesizing news.

ADVERTISEMENT

Granade declined to put a figure at how much money the venture arm plans to invest, but said he expected the group to invest in 10 to 20 companies a year.

"Steve [Cohen] has a fairly good sized balance sheet," Granade said. "Because we're operating through Steve, we can be very opportunistic when we're seeing things."

The Intercept reported last year that In-Q-Tel has been specializing in companies that mine data on Twitter and other social networks. And the Wall Street Journal reported that some of In-Q-Tel's board members have ties to some of the companies the fund has invested in.

The Securities and Exchange Commission in 2013 banned from managing outside money after it pleaded guilty to securities fraud.

Cohen subsequently launched Point72 as a family office to run his billions of wealth. A Cohen-led organization can accept outside investors' money again starting next year.

FOLLOW BUSINESS INSIDER AFRICA

Unblock notifications in browser settings.
ADVERTISEMENT

Recommended articles

10 African countries that waste the most food in 2024

10 African countries that waste the most food in 2024

US troop withdrawal from Niger hangs in the balance

US troop withdrawal from Niger hangs in the balance

Detained Binance executives sue Nigerian authorities for human right violation

Detained Binance executives sue Nigerian authorities for human right violation

Nigeria's central bank increases minimum capital base for banks

Nigeria's central bank increases minimum capital base for banks

Sony’s creators convention redefines the creative landscape for content creators

Sony’s creators convention redefines the creative landscape for content creators

Exploring the popularity of progressive jackpot slots in Indonesia

Exploring the popularity of progressive jackpot slots in Indonesia

Egypt, Nigeria, and South Africa ranked as Africa's most polluted countries in new report

Egypt, Nigeria, and South Africa ranked as Africa's most polluted countries in new report

10 African countries with the lowest life expectancy according to the World Bank

10 African countries with the lowest life expectancy according to the World Bank

Kenyan women are more obese than their men - here’s why

Kenyan women are more obese than their men - here’s why

ADVERTISEMENT