In the first two Rebuild movies Seele is shown to have major control of NERV and funds its operations. However, unlike the original anime they seem to have less control over the events that go on. In Evangelion 3.0: You Can (Not) Redo it is revealed that Seele has been around since "the beginning" and has given man the "gift of civilization". Gendo states "they have the fruit of life" and "that they are immortal" which could mean they are related to the angels in some way.