CALinnovates

What CALinnovates does

CALinnovates is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit policy advocacy organization founded in 2011 and headquartered in San Francisco, California, with operational reach into Silicon Valley, Sacramento, and Washington D.C. The organization's stated mission is to educate policymakers and the public on advancing a modern economy that uses technology to solve critical challenges and drive the creation of companies, jobs, and opportunities. Its advocacy spans broadband, spectrum policy, net neutrality, rideshare and home sharing regulation, and lodging market competition. The organization claims three named policy victories: delaying net neutrality through Congress and federal agencies, legalizing rideshare in California, and opposing monopolies in the lodging industry.

The organization does not develop or sell technology products, software platforms, or proprietary technology. Its output is advocacy and education delivered through direct policymaker engagement, earned media, social media, paid advertising, public events, grassroots and grasstops organizing, coalition building, and polling. The organization is led by CEO Mike Montgomery, a former finance director for Gavin Newsom and Governor Gray Davis, and Executive Director Dustan Batton, a longtime political consultant who has been with CALinnovates since its founding. Montgomery recently had a notable CPG exit with the Blue Run Spirits acquisition by Molson Coors.

CALinnovates is funded through donations, including traditional contributions and cryptocurrency donations (Bitcoin, Solana, Ethereum) accepted via wallet QR codes on its website. As a 501(c)(4), donations are not tax deductible as charitable contributions. With 1-10 employees and no disclosed revenue, donations, or grants, the organization operates as a lean advocacy outfit rather than a commercial enterprise. Its go-to-market is community-led, relying on coalition relationships and political access rather than product distribution.

Name

CALinnovates

Legal name

CALinnovates

Website

https://calinnovates.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

CALinnovates is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit advocacy organization that educates California and federal policymakers and the public on technology policy issues including broadband, net neutrality, rideshare, and lodging competition. It is funded via donations, including cryptocurrency.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Policy Advocacy Services

NAICS

Social Advocacy Organizations (8133), Social Advocacy Organizations (81331)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Education Policy Advocacy & Lobbying Organizations (EDADADAB)

Keywords

• Technology policy advocacy
• Nonprofit lobbying
• Net neutrality advocacy
• Rideshare policy
• Broadband policy

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Donations: As a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization, CALinnovates is funded primarily through donations. Donations to 501(c)(4)s are not tax deductible as charitable contributions. The organization accepts cryptocurrency donations including Bitcoin, Solana, and Ethereum.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

CALinnovates is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit policy advocacy organization that educates policymakers and the public on advancing a modern economy through technology. It conducts direct advocacy, earned and paid media campaigns, grassroots organizing, coalition building, and polling on issues including net neutrality, broadband deployment, spectrum policy, rideshare legalization, home sharing, and lodging industry competition. The organization accepts donations (including cryptocurrency) to fund its advocacy work.

Product overview

CALinnovates is a policy advocacy organization, not a technology product company. It does not offer software products, platforms, or modules. The organization provides advocacy services focused on educating policymakers and the public on technology policy issues including net neutrality, rideshare regulation, and competition in the lodging industry. Its activities are delivered through direct advocacy, earned media, social media, paid advertising, public events, grassroots organizing, coalition building, and polling — not through technology products or services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Policy Advocacy on Technology Issues
• Coalition Building and Strategic Partnerships
• Polling and Research
• Grassroots and Grasstops Organizing

Quantifiable outcome

• Delayed Net Neutrality through Congress and federal agencies
• +2 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• TechNet: TechNet is a national policy and political network of technology CEOs and senior executives that advocates on federal and state technology policy, including broadband, privacy, and innovation. It is one of the closest direct comparables to CALinnovates because it operates the same tech-industry advocacy model, just at greater scale and broader geography.
• Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF): ITIF is a think tank that formulates and promotes technology-policy solutions, including broadband, net neutrality, and innovation policy. It is a peer in the sense that both organizations produce research and advocate for technology-friendly regulation, though ITIF leans more research-and-think-tank than grassroots advocacy.
• Engine: Engine is a nonprofit advocacy organization that works on behalf of technology startups on issues including access to talent, capital, and innovation-friendly regulation. Like CALinnovates, it focuses on policy advocacy for the tech industry, particularly founders and early-stage companies.
• Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA): CCIA represents leading technology and communications companies in policy debates on broadband, net neutrality, competition, and digital trade. Its focus on the same policy issues that CALinnovates tackles (net neutrality, platform regulation, spectrum) makes it a directly comparable tech-industry advocacy peer.
• FWD.us: FWD.us is a 501(c)(4) advocacy organization focused on immigration reform, criminal justice, and technology policy, founded by tech-industry leaders. It is comparable to CALinnovates as a tech-aligned 501(c)(4) advocacy organization working on policy issues that affect the technology industry's ability to operate and hire.
• Chamber of Progress: Chamber of Progress is a tech-industry coalition advocating for progressive tech policy, including pro-innovation approaches to AI, broadband, and platform regulation. It competes for the same donor dollars and policy wins in the same California-and-D.C. corridor that CALinnovates operates in.

Regional players

• California Chamber of Commerce (CalChamber): CalChamber is California's largest broad-based business advocacy organization and frequently weighs in on technology, labor, and regulatory policy in Sacramento. It is a comparable California-focused advocacy peer, though it represents a much broader business constituency than CALinnovates' tech-only focus.

Emerging players

• Public Knowledge: Public Knowledge is a public-interest advocacy group focused on telecom, copyright, and internet policy, including net neutrality. It overlaps with CALinnovates on net neutrality and broadband but typically advocates from a pro-consumer rather than pro-industry perspective, making it a partial-overlap peer.

Broad incumbents

• Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF): EFF is a long-established nonprofit that advocates for digital civil liberties, including net neutrality and online speech. It overlaps with CALinnovates on net neutrality advocacy and serves a similar digital-policy donor base, though with a much larger staff and broader mandate.
• Consumer Technology Association (CTA): CTA is a broad trade association for the consumer technology industry and runs CES, lobbying on spectrum, broadband, and trade policy. It is a larger, more established incumbent operating in many of the same policy domains as CALinnovates.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/calinnovates
• Facebookfacebook.com/CALinnovates

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about CALinnovates