Tom Kemp

Seed Investor

2024 - Current

Author

2022

My award-winning book "Containing Big Tech: How to Protect Our Civil Rights, Economy, and Democracy" (Fast Company Press, August 2023) looks at the threats and challenges of Big Tech, and delivers a clear path forward to rein in online surveillance, AI, and tech monopolies. Experts are calling the book “prescient,” “very timely,” and “essential reading." For more info visit https://www.tomkemp.ai/containing-big-tech. You can also order by visiting ContainingBigTech.com.

Volunteer Policy Advisor

2020

Pro-bono policy advisor for different campaigns and advocacy groups: * I proposed, co-drafted, and worked as part of the team that passed California Senate Bill 362 (aka the California Delete Act). This law creates an online portal for consumers to request that data brokers delete any data they have on the consumer and no longer track them. See https://www.tomkemp.ai/blog/2023/10/10/analysis-of-the-california-delete-act-sb-362-signed-into-law * I advised Texas Appleseed in drafting Texas SB 2105 (passed in 2023). SB 2105 created the US' most robust data broker registry with requirements for stronger security. See https://www.tomkemp.ai/blog/2023/6/22/texas-enacts-us-most-robust-data-broker-registry-law * California Initiative for Technology & Democracy aka CITED: advisor in late 23/early 24. * Yes on Prop 24 Campaign (July 2020 - Nov 2020): volunteer that led the marketing efforts for the Yes on Prop 24 campaign that passed with over 9.3 million votes. Prop 24 is the California Privacy Rights Act (CRPA) that is "Version 2" of the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and gives Californians equivalent privacy rights as Europeans get with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). I built a team to help me manage the website, content (blogs, videos, etc.), and social. I also advised and contributed to advertising, endorsements, strategy, and other areas of the campaign. Discovered issues with Google search algorithms that made national news and was interviewed by Politico and WaPo. * Biden/Harris policy advisory team member for privacy/cybersecurity (June 2020 - Nov 2020). * Californians for Consumer Privacy (July 2020 - May 2021): volunteer policy advisor that built the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA) resource center (https://www.caprivacy.org/cpra-resource-center/) and provided misc. advice to the organization.

Managing Director

2021

Kemp Au Ventures is the name for two people—Tom Kemp and Adam Au—that invest their personal money together into seed and early-stage tech companies (i.e. we are classic Silicon Valley angel investors but act as a consortium). Tom and Adam are entrepreneurs who founded and built multiple tech companies that either went public or were acquired by strategics or private equity buyers. Tom and Adam want to give back so we are now focused on investing in new ventures from the next generation of entrepreneurs. To be clear, we are not VCs or a VC fund; it’s just the two of us investing our own personal money in combination with us spending quality time helping entrepreneurs in early company formation stage. We invest and collaborate alongside other individuals and/or VC firms. Our preference is investing in Bay Area companies so we can have coffee and brainstorming sessions with you, and our sweet spot is enterprise infrastructure and cybersecurity, but we will never say never. Visit us at tomkemp.ai/ventures for more info.

Seed Investor

2023

Seed Investor

2022

Seed Investor

2021

Seed Investor

2024

Seed Investor

2024

Seed Investor

2023