Bilal Mahmood

Bilal Mahmood is an American entrepreneur, philanthropist, and civil servant based in San Francisco, California. He is a former policy analyst in the Obama Administration, as well as co-founder of the Foundation 13 Fund and the software company ClearBrain, where he also served as CEO. ClearBrain was acquired by Amplitude in March of 2020.

Early life
Mahmood was born and raised in Palo Alto, California. Mahmood's parents and grandparents immigrated from Pakistan.

Mahmood finished high school in Lahore, Pakistan, where his family moved after 9/11. He graduated Stanford University in 2009 with a degree in biology and a minor in business. At Stanford, he interned at the Stanford Pediatric Surgery Lab and co-founded a microloan non-profit that has distributed more than $13,000. He was named a Gates Cambridge Scholar in 2009 and attended the University of Cambridge, where he earned a master's degree in bioscience enterprise.

Career
Mahmood was a policy analyst during the Obama administration in the Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship for the United States Department of Commerce in 2011.

After working in the Obama administration and several technology companies, Mahmood founded ClearBrain, a predictive analytics software company which Mahmood describes as technology for mission-minded organizations and small businesses, helping them compete with Amazon. Mahmood served as ClearBrain's CEO until March 2020, when analytics firm Amplitude announced it had acquired ClearBrain for an undisclosed sum.

Mahmood started the Foundation 13 Fund in 2020, investing in nonprofits local to San Francisco on issues including small business relief, anti-Asian violence, and local journalism. Its first grant raised $100,000 to support restaurant workers impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

2022 California State Assembly candidacy
On September 30, 2021, Mahmood announced he was running as a Democrat for California's 17th State Assembly district in a 2022 special election. He received public support from Saikat Chakrabarti, who served as chief of staff for New York Congressional Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and helped craft the Green New Deal. Together, Mahmood and Chakrabarti planned a similar comprehensive environmental framework for California, including a carbon tax to fund zero-interest loans to help families and businesses pay for green retrofits.

Mahmood based his platform on a number of issues including supporting a San Francisco Board of Education recall, a program to end homelessness in over 80 cities and counties, a guaranteed income program for Californians, expanding the California Earned Income Tax Credit ceiling to $75,000, and a combination of carbon and wealth taxes.

Mahmood finished third, subsequently endorsing Matt Haney. Haney ultimately defeated David Campos in the runoff election and was sworn in on May 3, 2022.

San Francisco political advocacy
Mahmood has continued to advocate for reforms in the permitting and approvals process for new construction in San Francisco, identifying excessive bureaucracy as a driver of homelessness and inequality in the city. Soon after Mahmood delineated these issues in the San Francisco Chronicle in March of 2023, city Supervisor Ahsha Safai and San Francisco Mayor London Breed put forward separate bills to streamline the city’s complex and time-consuming housing approval process.

In May of 2023, Mahmood drew attention to the bureucratic mismanagement and technical missteps which resulted in delayed payments to teachers working for San Francisco's school district.

Mahmood collaborated with San Francisco Assembly Member Matt Haney, his erstwhile political rival in the 2022 California State Assembly election, on legislation which would compel California's Energy Commission to create an emission reduction strategy for buildings and homes with clearly outlined requirements and milestones. The proposed legislation was praised for its potential to bolster investment in local businesses and create jobs in the state.

In January 2024, Mahmood announced his candidacy for the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, running against incumbent Dean Preston in District 5.