Black luxury sedan on a wet city street beneath glowing night lights.

Garrett Camp Biography: From Web Discovery to Ride-Hailing

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In April 2009, Garrett Camp was part of the group buying StumbleUpon back from eBay. At the same time, he was working on UberCab, the early transportation project that would become Uber. One venture was returning to its founders; the other had yet to launch.

Their paths would diverge. StumbleUpon eventually closed, while Uber went public. Camp’s role also changed: from leading a web-discovery business to shaping new products with collaborators and creating companies through his startup studio, Expa.

A Quick Look at the Life of Garrett Camp

Biography Summary

Garrett Camp is a Canadian technology entrepreneur and product designer, best known for co-founding StumbleUpon and Uber. He went on to establish Expa, a startup studio combining product design, company creation and early investment. His later work includes a public charitable pledge and the Camp Foundation.

Profile

Full Name: Garrett Camp

Born: 1978

Background: Raised in Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Education: University of Calgary, BSc (2001) and MSc (2006)

Best Known For: Co-founding StumbleUpon and Uber

Other Major Venture: Founder of Expa, established in 2013

Current Professional Listing (October 2026): Founder and CEO of Expa on his official website; Founding Partner on Expa’s team page

Philanthropy: Joined the Giving Pledge in 2017; associated with the Camp Foundation

Calgary, Engineering and an Interest in Discovery

Garrett Camp grew up in Calgary, Alberta. In a 2016 interview, he recalled early access to computers and described a family setting in which his father worked in building and design and his mother was involved in art and design.

Camp said he entered electrical engineering at the University of Calgary in 1995. The university lists a BSc in 2001 and an MSc in 2006. His description of his graduate research includes information retrieval, collaborative interfaces and evolutionary algorithms.

Camp would soon help create a service built around a different kind of online discovery. Instead of asking users to enter a search term, StumbleUpon, developed with Geoff Smith and colleagues, would recommend websites based on their interests and feedback.

StumbleUpon: Finding Websites Without Searching for Them

StumbleUpon launched in November 2001. Users chose topics, clicked through recommended websites and rated what they found with thumbs-up or thumbs-down feedback. Those responses helped personalize the next discoveries.

Camp captured the distinction in a later interview: “Google is cool if you know what you want.” StumbleUpon was designed for the moment when a person did not have a particular destination in mind.

Camp recalled that the service attracted roughly 50,000 users in its first year, largely through word of mouth, without paid marketing or outside financing.

Investor introductions in 2005 brought a new opportunity. Mitch Kapor, Steve Russell and Ram Shriram helped assemble approximately US$1.5 million in seed financing that December. Camp and Smith moved toward operations in San Francisco as StumbleUpon expanded beyond Calgary.

In May 2007, eBay acquired StumbleUpon for approximately US$75 million. The figure was the company’s sale value, not Camp’s personal proceeds. The acquisition placed the discovery service inside a much larger technology organization.

Why Camp Helped Buy StumbleUpon Back

Under eBay, StumbleUpon gained access to engineering resources and opportunities for expansion. Camp also recalled the costs of corporate oversight, including slower approvals and less room to make changes quickly.

In a 2011 interview, Camp explained his own reason for reacquiring StumbleUpon in four words: “A desire for flexibility.” He acknowledged the benefits of the eBay period even as he sought greater independence.

On April 13, 2009, StumbleUpon returned to independence through a transaction involving Camp, Smith and investors including Sherpalo, Accel and August Capital. Camp resumed the chief executive role. It was a group-backed buyback, not a purchase by Camp alone; eBay did not disclose the sale price.

The company continued to grow after the buyback. By May 2012, contemporary reporting put StumbleUpon above 25 million registered accounts. Camp stepped down as chief executive that month to become chairman, saying the next phase called for different leadership. The account figure measured registrations, not active users.

From a San Francisco Taxi Problem to UberCab

Camp had been developing a transportation idea even before the StumbleUpon buyback. Recalling Uber’s beginnings in a 2016 interview, he described waiting unsuccessfully for a yellow cab in San Francisco and imagining an app that could show available vehicles.

At the LeWeb conference in Paris in late 2008, Camp and Travis Kalanick discussed the concept. Kalanick later described the early proposal as a kind of limousine timeshare. Paris was a setting for their discussions, but the popular story that a failed snowy-night taxi ride there single-handedly inspired Uber goes beyond what the founders’ accounts establish.

Camp registered ubercab.com in August 2008, according to the 2016 profile. By March 2009, he was working more seriously on an iPhone prototype. The proposed service centered on on-demand black-car rides, long before Uber’s later expansion into other services.

The launch depended on collaborators. Oscar Salazar, an associate from Camp’s graduate-school days, helped with the prototype. Kalanick joined in summer 2009 as Chief Incubator. Ryan Graves arrived on March 1, 2010, and took on a significant role in getting the service running.

The team conducted a three-car test in New York City in January 2010. UberCab launched publicly in San Francisco on May 31. Later in 2010, the company dropped “Cab” from its name after city authorities objected to the term.

Camp’s contribution centered on the original concept and product design. Salazar’s prototype work, Kalanick’s incubation and Graves’s operational role also helped bring the service to launch.

Expa: Building Companies Through a Startup Studio

After becoming StumbleUpon chairman in 2012, Camp founded Expa in 2013. It was a startup studio designed to help create companies, not merely a fund investing in businesses already underway.

Expa combined product design, seed funding and operating assistance. In March 2014, it announced US$50 million in financing for its work developing companies at an early stage.

In March 2016, Expa announced a further US$100 million and introduced Expa Labs, an application-based program offering selected founders capital, workspace and support. Labs complemented the studio’s broader company-creation work.

Expa’s documented ventures and portfolio have included Mix, Current, Collective and Metabase. Its involvement varies from company to company; an Expa connection does not mean Camp personally founded or ran each business.

Uber’s Growth and a Public Reckoning

As Uber expanded, it faced scrutiny over driver treatment, labor classification, pricing, municipal transportation rules and workplace culture. These were controversies involving the company, not findings that Camp personally engaged in particular misconduct.

During Uber’s June 2017 leadership crisis, Camp, who had board responsibilities, publicly acknowledged company failings. On June 20, he wrote: “We have neglected parts of our culture as we have focused on growth.” Chief executive Travis Kalanick resigned under investor pressure that same month.

Camp urged Uber to listen more closely to employees, drivers and riders. His remarks addressed the company’s culture; they did not constitute a finding of personal wrongdoing.

StumbleUpon Ends; Uber Enters the Public Market

StumbleUpon’s later years brought another change in Camp’s involvement. In August 2015, he announced that he was in the process of becoming its majority shareholder again. This was separate from the founder-and-investor buyback in 2009.

StumbleUpon announced that it would shut down on June 30, 2018, and direct users to Mix, a separate content-discovery project founded by Camp. According to Camp, StumbleUpon had reached 40 million users and 60 billion “stumbles” over its lifetime. Those were cumulative totals, not a picture of its active audience at closure.

Mix carried forward an interest in discovering online content, but it was not the original StumbleUpon service continuing under a new name.

Uber followed a different path. It priced its initial public offering on May 9, 2019, at US$45 per share. Securities filings listed Camp as a director, but they do not establish a personal cash payout from the offering.

On March 31, 2020, Camp announced that he would step down as an Uber director and become a board observer, intending to focus on product strategy and design. That was his announced role change in 2020, not a statement of his current board status.

Philanthropy and Camp’s More Recent Work

Camp’s interests had also extended beyond his companies. In 2017, he joined the Giving Pledge, committing to leave half of his assets to charity. The commitment describes intended giving, not a completed transfer of half his wealth.

In his pledge letter, Camp wrote that “Philanthropy isn’t just about donating money” and described an interest in direct involvement and design-led approaches to social problems. He connected those interests to infrastructure needs he said he observed on a visit to Kenya.

The Camp Foundation describes work on infrastructure, sustainability and conservation. Its website features Every.org and TrueMedia.org, while specifically crediting Oren Etzioni with founding TrueMedia.org. The foundation’s involvement should not be confused with Camp having personally founded every featured project.

Expa announced a third fund of US$200 million in April 2022, following the earlier financing rounds. Those figures describe Expa’s funds, not Camp’s personal earnings.

As of October 21, 2026, Camp’s own website described him as Expa’s founder and CEO; Expa’s team page identified him as a Founding Partner. These are the organizations’ published role descriptions, not a detailed account of his daily responsibilities.

A Legacy of Products With Different Outcomes

StumbleUpon helped people find unfamiliar websites. Uber gave customers a way to request transportation. Expa supports founders in creating companies. Across these different settings, Camp’s work has repeatedly concerned how people discover, access and build something new.

These ventures also show the limits of a straightforward success story. StumbleUpon was bought, reclaimed and eventually closed; Uber entered public markets while facing serious questions about its treatment of workers and its operating practices. Expa offered Camp a different role, supporting multiple teams rather than leading one service.

Camp’s career remains in progress. Its clearest thread is not a single company or outcome, but his changing part in building products with others.

Timeline

These milestones trace Garrett Camp’s education, major ventures, changing responsibilities and public philanthropic commitments.

Timeline.

1978

Garrett Camp is born in 1978; he later grows up in Calgary, Alberta.

1995

According to his later recollection, Camp begins electrical-engineering studies at the University of Calgary.

2001

Camp receives a BSc from the University of Calgary. StumbleUpon launches in November.

2005–2006

StumbleUpon secures about US$1.5 million in seed funding in December 2005 and moves toward San Francisco operations. Camp receives his MSc from the University of Calgary in 2006.

May 2007

eBay acquires StumbleUpon in a transaction valued at approximately US$75 million.

2008–2009

Camp develops the UberCab concept; he and Travis Kalanick discuss it in Paris in late 2008. UberCab prototype work advances in 2009.

In April 2009, a founder-and-investor group buys StumbleUpon back from eBay, and Camp resumes his chief executive role.

2010

Uber’s early team tests a three-car service in New York in January and launches UberCab in San Francisco on May 31.

2012–2014

Camp becomes StumbleUpon chairman in 2012, founds Expa in 2013, and Expa announces its first US$50 million in financing in 2014.

2015–2016

Camp announces plans to regain majority ownership of StumbleUpon in 2015. Expa announces another US$100 million and Expa Labs in 2016.

2017

As Uber confronts a leadership and culture crisis, Camp publicly addresses company shortcomings. He separately joins the Giving Pledge.

2018

StumbleUpon announces a June 30 shutdown and directs users toward the related Mix service.

2019–2020

Uber prices its IPO in May 2019. In March 2020, Camp announces a move from Uber board director to board observer.

2022

Expa announces a US$200 million third fund for studio creation and early-stage investments.

October 2026

Camp’s official website and Expa’s team page continue to list him in leadership roles associated with the startup studio.

FAQs

Question: Did Garrett Camp come up with Uber during a trip to Paris?

Answer: Garrett Camp traced an early Uber idea to difficulty finding a taxi in San Francisco. He and Travis Kalanick discussed a vehicle-on-demand service at the LeWeb conference in Paris in late 2008. The widely repeated snowy-Paris cab story should not be treated as the established origin of the idea.

Question: Was Garrett Camp Uber’s CEO?

Answer: Garrett Camp helped originate Uber’s concept and worked on early product design. Travis Kalanick helped incubate the company, Oscar Salazar contributed to the prototype and Ryan Graves worked on launch operations. Camp was an Uber director at its 2019 IPO and announced a move to board observer in 2020; his established roles here are co-founder, designer and director rather than operating CEO.

Question: Why did Garrett Camp buy StumbleUpon back from eBay?

Answer: Camp said he wanted greater flexibility and faster decision-making. In April 2009, StumbleUpon was reacquired by a group of founders and investors, not by Camp alone. He returned as CEO while acknowledging that the eBay period had offered valuable resources.

Question: Did StumbleUpon become Mix?

Answer: StumbleUpon announced that it would close on June 30, 2018, and direct users toward Mix, a related content-discovery product founded by Camp. Mix was a different product rather than the old StumbleUpon service continuing unchanged.

Question: What is Expa, the company Garrett Camp founded?

Answer: Expa is a startup studio that combines product design, company creation, early-stage investment and operating assistance. It announced US$50 million in its first financing in 2014, another US$100 million in 2016 and a US$200 million third fund in 2022. These amounts refer to Expa’s financing, not Camp’s personal income.

Question: What did Garrett Camp commit to through the Giving Pledge?

Answer: When Garrett Camp joined the Giving Pledge in 2017, he committed to leaving half of his assets to charity and described an interest in hands-on, design-oriented philanthropic work. His letter documents the promise, not completed donations of a specified amount.

Interviews

Garrett Camp on StumbleUpon, Uber and Product Design (2016)

Stephen M. Baldwin’s original Report on Business profile draws on a detailed interview with Camp. It covers his Calgary background, the development and financing of StumbleUpon, his recollection of the early transportation idea behind Uber, and his approach to designing products. It is especially useful for understanding Camp’s own perspective while distinguishing that perspective from independently documented events.

Read the interview and profile

Why Camp Reacquired StumbleUpon (2011)

In this TechCrunch interview with Alexia Tsotsis at SXSW, Camp reflects on StumbleUpon’s time under eBay and explains what he valued about regaining flexibility. He also discusses Uber while it was still a young project. The conversation illuminates how the two ventures overlapped in his career.

Read the interview

Sources