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Who was Soma Somasegar? Indian-origin Microsoft veteran dies at 59
Following the news of Somasegar's death, tributes poured in from across the tech industry, with many remembering him as a mentor and influential tech leader.
Indian-origin tech veteran S “Soma” Somasegar, a former Microsoft executive and managing director at Madrona Venture Group , has died at the age of 59. The news was confirmed on Tuesday by Madrona, a Seattle-based venture capital firm, where Somasegar had worked for the past 11 years.
“We are heartbroken to share that our dear friend and colleague Soma Somasegar passed away unexpectedly earlier today,” Madrona said in a statement.
“There is no way to adequately describe Soma’s brilliance and generous spirit. He was unique at every level and raised the bar on what we expected of ourselves professionally and, more importantly, personally,” the firm added.
The cause of death has not been publicly disclosed.
Tributes pour in
Tributes poured in from across the tech industry following news of his death, with many remembering him as a mentor and influential tech leader.
Chennai-born entrepreneur and US President Donald Trump’s AI advisor Sriram Krishnan wrote on X that Somasegar had played a defining role in shaping his and his wife Aarthi Ramamurthy’s careers.
“It’s hard to articulate how much of an impact Soma had on @aarthir and me. He spotted us out of under grad, made sure we got our first jobs, spent time with us though he was a senior executive at Microsoft and we were random junior people and showered us with kindness,” Krishnan wrote.
“Over the years he became a mentor who would tell us how proud he was of where we had gotten. We genuinely wouldn’t have the lives and careers we have now without him. I’m still in shock and so deeply heartbroken. It’s a truly sad day,” he added.
Former Microsoft executive Steven Sinofsky also paid tribute, recalling their decades-long association at the company.
“Heartbroken to share this news of friend and long-time colleague. We started at Microsoft months apart, both grad school dropouts. Our work paths intertwined for more than two decades on everything from the first NT through dev tools with a good deal of college recruiting all along. His contributions to Microsoft and culture were as legendary as was the admiration and respect he earned from generations of the Softies he guided and led. Om Shanti, Soma,” Sinofsky wrote.
“RIP. Sometimes without much connection you still connect. It was hard to sleep last night. I have written a lot to venture and have seen varied levels of interest, accountability and commitment. Very few people were as accountable as of Somasegar. I was traveling to Seattle one evening and had written to Somasegar as I was catching my flight late evening. I could have used my network asking to connect but it was late and last minute flight and I just took a chance to write to him. He was quick and a cold outreach did not matter and it gets responded at 2:18AM in the night connecting me to the Seattle Orcas CEO at that time. I cannot say much about Somasegar and only wish we crossed paths more,” shared X user Mithun Kadur.
Who was Soma Somasegar?
S. Somasegar was born in Puducherry and built a decades-long career in the global technology industry. According to his LinkedIn profile, Somasegar joined Microsoft in January 1989 and spent nearly 27 years at the company. During his tenure, he contributed to 8 releases of Windows before eventually leading Microsoft’s Developer Division.
After leaving Microsoft, he joined Madrona Venture Group in November 2015 as managing director, where he focused on early-stage technology investments across enterprise and consumer sectors. Somasegar was also an active angel and seed investor in startups in the US and internationally.
He earned a master’s degree in Computer Engineering from Louisiana State University and a bachelor’s degree in Electronics and Communication Engineering from Anna University. Anna University later awarded him an honorary doctorate for his contributions to technology and computer science. In 2008, he received the Asian American Engineer of the Year Award.
Somasegar is survived by his wife and two daughters.
