Garrett Camp
Garrett Camp | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 4, 1978 Calgary, Alberta, Canada |
| Occupation(s) | Entrepreneur, investor, software developer |
| Years active | 2002–present |
| Known for | Co-founder of StumbleUpon and Uber |
Garrett Camp (born October 4, 1978) is a Canadian-French entrepreneur, investor, and software developer. He is recognized as a co-founder of the search engine StumbleUpon and the ride-sharing company Uber. Camp currently lives in Los Angeles.
Early life and education
Born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, Camp grew up with parents who shifted their careers from economics and art to residential construction. He completed his undergraduate studies in electrical engineering in 2001 and later obtained a master's degree in software engineering from the University of Calgary, where he concentrated on collaborative systems, evolutionary algorithms, and information retrieval techniques.
Career
Camp launched StumbleUpon in 2002, pioneering the first personalized search engine. The platform was acquired by eBay in 2007 before being spun off again in 2009. After regaining independence, Camp worked on scaling StumbleUpon’s features and audience until his departure in 2012.
He established Expa Labs in 2014 to foster startup development. In 2015, Camp repurchased StumbleUpon, which operated until its evolution into Mix in 2018—a project partially developed through Expa Labs.
Uber
Camp founded Uber initially as UberCab in 2009. By 2011, the company had rapidly expanded throughout the United States and internationally. Uber became the first taxi application authorized for use in New York City and introduced carpooling options in Paris. Although Camp resigned from Uber's board of directors in 2020, he continues to serve as a board observer.
His role at Uber was dramatized by actor Jon Bass in the television series Super Pumped, which chronicles Uber’s history.
Investments
Camp has provided funding to ventures including Prism Skylabs and BlackJet, an on-demand private jet service.
Awards and honors
In 2007, Camp was listed among MIT Technology Review’s Top Innovators under 35. The following year, Bloomberg Businessweek acknowledged him as one of the leading young entrepreneurs in technology. He earned the Tribeca Disruptive Innovation Award in 2013 for his contributions to both StumbleUpon and Uber.
Wealth
By 2015, Camp was ranked as the 283rd wealthiest individual worldwide and the third-richest Canadian, with an estimated fortune of US$5.3 billion. As of February 2024, his net worth stands at US$6.18 billion, placing him fifteenth among Canadian billionaires according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
In 2017, Camp pledged to donate half of his wealth to philanthropic causes by joining The Giving Pledge.
In June 2019, he acquired a mansion located in Beverly Hills’ Trousdale Estates for $72.5 million. This purchase led to protests outside his residence by Uber drivers demanding higher wages and better working conditions.