Michael Dodd, assistant secretary of war for critical technologies, delivers remarks to enlistees during a Joint Enlistment Ceremony at Indianapolis Motor Speedway at Speedway, Indiana, May 17, 2026. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Sgt. Austin Goss)

The Pentagon announced on Friday it’s officially partnering with the CIA-backed In-Q-Tel (IQT) venture capital non-profit for “technology scouting” to support rapid development of promising capabilities within the department’s six critical technology areas. Michael Dodd, the Pentagon’s critical technologies chief, said the initiative aims to have commercial prototypes “out of the lab and into active operational field evaluations with our combatant commands” within the next 12 months.  “The partnership gives the [Pentagon’s] research and engineering enterprise structured access to IQT's…