CIA's Role in Steve Jobs' Success

The CIA secretly helps keep Steve Jobs' company alive, and that might

be part of the reason you have an iPhone today.

In 1985, Jobs got kicked out of Apple and started a new company

called NeXT, building powerful computers that

were also extremely expensive.

Problem was, sales struggled. Then in 1986, two CIA officers

showed up looking for computers for a classified satellite reconnaissance

program.

They reportedly wanted 20,000 machines.

Jobs agreed to sell them, but told the agents,

"Don't tell me anything I'm not

supposed to know, because I won't remember to forget." He

still got a top-secret

security clearance. And suddenly, NeXT had a massive customer.

Production reportedly surged from around 100 computers a month to thousands,

giving the struggling company a crucial lifeline. Then comes the important part.

Apple bought NeXT in 1997, bringing Steve Jobs back to Apple.

NeXT's software became the technological foundation for Mac OS X, which

ultimately helped underpin iOS. So there's a strange line connecting

American

spy satellites to the phone in your pocket.

Without CIA deal, NeXT might have gone under,

Jobs might never have returned to

Apple, and the device in your hand might look

very different today.