California

ACT represents startups and small tech companies across California, providing insight and advocacy to shape a policy environment that reflects how technology is built and used in practice. ACT works with our members across California to understand the realities of operating a startup or small tech company and advocating for change in Sacramento.

We support a vibrant and growing community of founders, innovators, and funders dedicated to supporting each other and building a stronger small technology community.

Online Marketplaces & Competition

Curated Online Marketplaces (COMs), such as app stores, help small teams reach users. But policies like the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) which mandate broad access requirements can weaken security, raise fraud risk, and create disruptive implementation churn that hits small developers first. Startups and small tech companies leverage COMs, including app stores, cloud platforms, and e-commerce hubs, to reach customers efficiently. Startups and small companies rely on the economics of trust – the long-term accretion of consumer confidence won by well-managed marketplaces – to sell products and services to customers that otherwise would be suspicious of young companies.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become a key element of innovation and competitiveness in the app economy. While many small developers have used AI and machine learning for years to look for bugs and to manipulate data, today the implementation models of AI are changing almost daily. Startups and small tech companies are at the forefront of this new AI revolution. As the regulatory landscape evolves, it is crucial to strike a balance between fostering innovation and protecting consumers and businesses from demonstrated harms. Policies must be crafted in a way that supports the diverse needs of the app economy, particularly the startups and small tech companies that rely on AI to compete and thrive in a dynamic market.

Intellectual Property

Technical standards power interoperability across artificial intelligence (AI) and the internet of things (IoT) ecosystems. Startups and small tech companies utilize these standards to compete and innovation across consumer and enterprise markets. But the abuse of patents within standards makes pricing, planning, and access to capital harder if not impossible. The requirement for fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory (FRAND) licensing of standard-essential patents (SEP) to any willing licensee must be upheld. Startups and small tech companies drive innovation across the globe, but the obstruction and exploitation by a handful of SEP holding bad actors is stifling innovation.

Policy priorities

Current policy focus in California

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