# Gilman Louie

> Gilman Louie is a fourth-generation Chinese-American entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and national security strategist who built the CIA's venture capital arm In-Q-Tel from scratch, co-founded Alsop Louie Partners, and now leads America's Frontier Fund — a nonprofit deep-tech investment vehicle aimed at securing U.S. technological leadership against China. Before any of that, he was the video game pioneer who brought Tetris to the West and built the Falcon F-16 flight simulator so realistic it trained actual Air National Guard pilots.

- **Role:** CEO & Co-Founder at America's Frontier Fund; Partner at Alsop Louie Partners
- **Organizations:** America's Frontier Fund, Alsop Louie Partners, LookingGlass Cyber Solutions, Federation of American Scientists, National Intelligence University
- **From:** San Francisco, USA
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** B.S., Business Administration (magna cum laude), San Francisco State University, Advanced Management Program (AMP), Harvard Business School, International Senior Management Program (ISMP), Harvard Business School
- **Known for:** Founded In-Q-Tel (1999) — the CIA's first-ever venture capital arm — and served as its inaugural CEO for 7 years, Built Falcon F-16 simulator series so realistic it was used to train actual Air National Guard pilots, Published Tetris in the West (1988) — the first commercial release of Tetris outside the Soviet Union — helping make it one of the best-selling games of all time

## Career timeline

- **1981** — Founded NEXA Corporation while still a college student, developing combat flight simulators
- **1984** — Began developing Falcon F-16 Fighting Falcon simulator series — eventually realistic enough to train Air National Guard pilots
- **1986** — NEXA merged with Spectrum HoloByte; Louie became chairman of the combined entity
- **1988** — Oversaw publication of Tetris — the first commercial release outside the Soviet Union — marketing it in iconic red Soviet packaging
- **1992** — Became CEO of Spectrum HoloByte
- **1993** — Spectrum HoloByte's parent merged with MicroProse
- **1998** — Hasbro Interactive acquired Spectrum HoloByte/MicroProse; Louie became Chief Creative Officer of Hasbro Interactive
- **1999** — Co-founded and became inaugural CEO of In-Q-Tel — the CIA's venture capital arm — with $30M seed capital
- **2003** — In-Q-Tel made landmark $1.25M investment in Palantir when no other VC would touch it
- **2006** — Co-founded Alsop Louie Partners with Stewart Alsop; departed In-Q-Tel
- **2009** — Became Chairman and CEO of LookingGlass Cyber Solutions
- **2016** — Appointed to Defense Innovation Board as Special Government Employee
- **2018** — Appointed Commissioner, National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence (NSCAI)
- **2021** — NSCAI Final Report released warning U.S. underprepared for AI-era competition; Wickr (portfolio co.) acquired by AWS
- **2022** — Co-founded America's Frontier Fund; appointed to President's Intelligence Advisory Board and State Dept. Foreign Affairs Policy Board
- **2023** — Received Arthur C. Lundahl-Thomas C. Finnie Lifetime Achievement Award from USGIF
- **2025** — America's Frontier Fund announced $315M debut fund targeting hypersonics, compute, advanced manufacturing, and materials science
- **2025** — Received Charlie Allen Award for Distinguished Intelligence Service from AFCEA International

## Achievements

- Founded In-Q-Tel (1999) — the CIA's first-ever venture capital arm — and served as its inaugural CEO for 7 years
- Built Falcon F-16 simulator series so realistic it was used to train actual Air National Guard pilots
- Published Tetris in the West (1988) — the first commercial release of Tetris outside the Soviet Union — helping make it one of the best-selling games of all time
- Made early In-Q-Tel investment of $1.25M in Palantir when every Silicon Valley VC declined
- Invested in Niantic (Pokémon Go), Wickr (acquired by AWS), Twitch, and Cleversafe through Alsop Louie Partners
- Served on National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence (2018-2021) — produced landmark Final Report calling for $40B in AI investment
- Co-founded America's Frontier Fund — raising $315M debut fund for deep tech national security investments
- Chairman of the Federation of American Scientists and National Intelligence University
- Received 5 major intelligence community awards including CIA Director's Award and DNI Medallion
- Received 2021 Theodore Roosevelt Government Leadership Award — one of only two non-federal honorees
- Received 2023 USGIF Arthur C. Lundahl-Thomas C. Finnie Lifetime Achievement Award
- Received 2025 AFCEA Charlie Allen Award for Distinguished Intelligence Service
- Appointed to President's Intelligence Advisory Board (2022) and State Department Foreign Affairs Policy Board (2022)

## Latest updates

- **2025-04** — America's Frontier Fund announced it is raising $315M debut fund — $140M private capital plus $175M in SBA-guaranteed government loans — targeting hypersonics, compute infrastructure, advanced manufacturing, and materials science
- **2025-02** — Received Charlie Allen Award for Distinguished Intelligence Service from AFCEA International
- **2025-01** — Published 'Tariffs Delivered the Jolt — Now Comes the Build' in The Cipher Brief, arguing for a U.S. sovereign wealth fund to match state-directed competitors like China
- **2024-12** — Appeared on Yahoo Finance Live discussing generative AI investment trends and national security implications
- **2024-05** — Spoke at Milken Institute Global Conference 2024
- **2023-11** — Received Arthur C. Lundahl-Thomas C. Finnie Lifetime Achievement Award from USGIF at GEOGala, Ritz-Carlton, Tysons Corner

## Links

- Website: https://alsop-louie.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gilmanlouie/
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/gglouie

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/gilman-louie
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-04-30