Clara Tsao is a technology policy and trust and safety specialist with experience in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. She is a founding officer of the Filecoin Foundation and a co-founder of the Trust & Safety Professional Association. ^[1]

Education

Tsao earned a Bachelor of Science and Arts from the University of California, Los Angeles, and a Master of Business Administration from Imperial College London. She has also attended programs at Stanford University, the University of British Columbia, and the University of Cambridge. ^[2]

Career

Tsao began her career in 2006 at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency before holding marketing roles at Apple and Hewlett-Packard. From 2012 to 2013, she worked in technical evangelism and operations for AT&T’s Mobile Developer Program. Following this, she transitioned into civic technology and policy, co-founding the U.S. Congressional App Challenge and serving as its executive director. During this period, she also directed the Congressional Internet Caucus Academy, co-organized the civic hacking initiative Hack for LA, and was a Google Technology Policy Fellow. Between 2014 and 2018, Tsao worked at Microsoft, where she led public-sector partnerships and directed the nonprofit organization Design for a Better Future.

From 2016 to 2019, Tsao served as an Entrepreneur-in-Residence with the White House Presidential Innovation Fellows (PIF), a program that brings technology and design leaders into the federal government. While there, she co-founded the Digital Acquisition Accelerator, an initiative to improve technology procurement within government agencies. She also served as Chief Technology Officer at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, where she advised task forces on countering violent extremism and foreign influence. Her work in the federal government later included collaboration with the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). Tsao maintained her connection to the PIF program by serving as president and board chair of the Presidential Innovation Fellows Foundation until 2022. During this time, she also became a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Shapers network.

Since 2019, Tsao's work has increasingly focused on trust and safety, digital governance, and decentralized technology. She became a Mozilla Tech Policy Fellow and co-founded the Trust & Safety Professional Association, an organization dedicated to supporting professionals who work to secure online platforms. In 2020, she became a founding officer of the Filecoin Foundation, where she oversees its core operations as well as its sister organization, the Filecoin Foundation for the Decentralized Web. In addition to these roles, she holds non-resident fellowships at the German Marshall Fund and the Atlantic Council. She also serves as an advisor to the organization Tech Against Terrorism, the UK Prime Minister’s No.10 Innovation Fellowship Programme, and as co-chair of the Conference for Truth and Trust Online. ^[3]

Interviews

Decentralized Data

On OpenFortune’s CMO podcast in April 2025, Tsao discussed her journey in decentralization, trust, and safety within emerging tech. Reflecting on her diverse career, which included senior roles at major companies like Microsoft and Apple, she emphasized her long-standing commitment to using technology as a tool to democratize knowledge and address inequality. Tsao recounted a pivotal experience working in Myanmar, where the complexities of an emerging internet landscape underscored the responsibility tech firms bear in shaping public discourse. She expressed concern about the monopolistic control major tech companies exercise over data, advocating for a decentralized web that empowers users by giving them ownership of their data. Tsao noted the interest in blockchain technology beyond cryptocurrency, envisioning applications that could enhance cybersecurity and serve underrepresented communities. She acknowledged the challenges posed by entrenched centralized systems, but remained optimistic about the transformative potential of decentralized technologies to create a more equitable digital landscape. ^[4]

AI & Decentralized Storage

On the Overnight Success podcast in April 2025, Tsao traced her path from public-sector work to co-founding and shaping the Filecoin Foundation, and explained how she believed AI’s growth made data governance more urgent. She argued that relying on centralized cloud systems risked concentration of power, censorship, and opaque control over how data is used or altered. Instead, she proposed that decentralized storage—anchored by cryptographic proofs and distributed nodes—could improve trust, auditability, and resilience, especially in AI pipelines. She also described how Filecoin and related projects aim to integrate storage, compute, and GPU services, and discussed how decentralized infrastructure could help verify provenance (for example, of images or media), support journalism or legal accountability, and enable more equitable access to data resources. ^[5]

DePIN

In a May 2025 interview with Joey Liu (Terminal 3) on the Smart Contact podcast, Tsao discussed the transformative potential of decentralized physical infrastructure networks (DePin) and its implications for computing and policy-making. Emphasizing her commitment to addressing social inequality through technology, she highlighted how decentralized storage solutions, particularly Filecoin, could revolutionize access to information by eliminating data silos and censorship, thus enhancing societal knowledge. Tsao elaborated on the mechanics of decentralized storage, showcasing its resilience against failures and cost efficiency compared to centralized models. She noted the growing interest among traditional enterprises in decentralized systems as a response to security vulnerabilities and regulatory pressures on data privacy. Furthermore, she underscored the role of decentralized AI in fostering transparency and accountability in data usage. Throughout the discussion, Tsao expressed optimism about the evolving regulatory landscape, noting that policymakers are increasingly understanding the opportunities and challenges presented by decentralized technologies. ^[7]

AI x DePIN

In an interview with Mariela Tanchez (IoTeX) at DePIN Lounge in January 2025, Tsao explored the convergence of artificial intelligence (AI) and decentralized physical infrastructure networks (DePIN). Tsao recounted her long-standing involvement in the crypto space, highlighting Filecoin's journey in creating a decentralized storage network that incentivizes data management. She emphasized the importance of data accessibility and ownership, particularly in addressing global inequalities. The conversation also covered the evolving role of AI, particularly how it can enhance data usability and verification in decentralized systems. The speakers noted the challenges traditional enterprises face in adopting blockchain solutions and the significance of fostering trust in decentralized technologies. They concluded by discussing the potential of decentralized storage to support AI applications while ensuring data security and transparency, ultimately benefiting both users and enterprises. ^[8]

Presentations

Filecoin & AI

At ETHDenver in March 2024, Tsao discussed the significance of decentralized storage in the context of the rapid growth of artificial intelligence (AI) in a presentation. She highlighted the expansive network of over 3,300 storage providers that Filecoin utilizes globally, which is crucial as AI relies heavily on vast amounts of data —data described as the fuel of AI. Tsao emphasized the advantages of decentralized storage, including cost-effectiveness, trust enabled by cryptographic proof of storage, and resilience against monopolistic control over data. She also addressed concerns about the risks of AI concentration among a few major tech companies and discussed how Filecoin's technology could enhance data provenance and transparency to combat misinformation. Additionally, she explored the challenges posed by supply chain issues in computing hardware, suggesting that a decentralized network could mitigate these problems. Tsao concluded by encouraging collaboration and engagement with Filecoin's initiatives in this evolving landscape. ^[6]

Panels

On-Chain AI Agents

At TOKEN2049 in October 2025, a panel discussion titled "AI Agents as On-Chain Decision-Makers" took place at the Agents Day event, moderated by Adam Wozney (Akash). The conversation revolved around the implications of AI agents making decisions on blockchain, contrasting traditional human decision-making biases with the potential for more rational, data-driven conclusions by AI. Panelists included Shaw Walters (Eliza Labs), Stefano Bury (Virtuals), Janet Adams (SingularityNET), Tsao, and Yuri Kyparusi (Wallchain). They explored various topics, such as the importance of defining decision-making in the context of smart contracts, the role of trusted data in building effective AI systems, and the challenges of implementing AI responsibly in financial contexts. Concerns were raised about the risks of projecting human failings onto AI and ensuring transparency and accountability within these new systems. The discussion concluded with a reflection on the need for continued development and understanding of AI technology before it could be fully trusted as a decision-maker in on-chain environments. ^[9]