[dylan604]

Isn't this pretty much true of any bidding process? The people already know who they want, but go through the mandated bids just to say they did while ultimately picking the group they already intended to use? From my experience that's the SOP for ad/creative agency bids, so I just extrapolate that to the rest of the world ;-)

[rexreed]

It's worse when the VCs put their own people specifically in positions of control in the government to funnel deals to their portfolio companies, and then those people in positions of control leave to then work for those portfolio companies that now have dozens or hundreds of millions of dollars in government funds. It's much dirtier than just building relationships with people before the offer goes out.