Tech world mourns Indian-origin Microsoft veteran Soma
The global technology community is mourning the death of S. “Soma” Somasegar, the Indian American former Microsoft executive and Madrona Venture Group managing director who was widely credited with shaping Microsoft’s developer ecosystem and mentoring a generation of engineers, founders and investors.
“With heavy hearts, we share the passing of beloved husband and father, S. Somasegar (fondly known as Soma), on May 19th, 2026,” a family memorial message said Tuesday.
Tributes poured in from across Silicon Valley and Seattle after news emerged that Somasegar had died at the age of 59. He spent nearly 27 years at Microsoft before joining Madrona Venture Group in 2015.
Indian-American entrepreneur and White House AI adviser Sriram Krishnan described Somasegar as a mentor who transformed careers.
“It’s hard to articulate how much of an impact Soma had on @aarthir and me,” Krishnan wrote on X. “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.”
“We genuinely wouldn’t have the lives and careers we have now without him,” he added.
Automation software company UiPath, where Somasegar served on the board of directors from September 2024, called him “a trusted advisor and leader”.
“We are saddened to hear of the untimely passing of S. ‘Soma’ Somasegar,” the company said in a statement. “Our hearts go out to Soma’s wife, Akila, his daughters, and to his colleagues at Madrona.”
Journalist Tom Warren said Somasegar “spent 27 years at Microsoft and led the company’s Developer Division,” adding that he “was also a big part of the Seattle tech scene.”
Several former Microsoft employees and startup founders remembered him as a quiet but influential force behind Microsoft’s transformation into a cloud and developer-focused company.
A lengthy tribute published by GeekWire described him as “a champion of developers and startups” and highlighted his role mentoring founders and investors across Seattle’s technology ecosystem.
Somasegar joined Microsoft in January 1989 and later led the company’s Developer Division, overseeing products including Visual Studio and .NET. He also helped establish Microsoft’s India Development Center in Hyderabad in 1998.
“He played a key role in Windows NT, founded the India Development Center in Hyderabad, and led the Developer Division, championing .NET and millions of developers worldwide,” wrote Chinnu Senthilkumar, an alumnus of Chennai’s College of Engineering Guindy.
Somasegar later joined Madrona Venture Group, focusing on investments in artificial intelligence, machine learning, cloud infrastructure and intelligent applications.
“He was one of the kindest people I have known,” Vijayee Raj, CTO of OpenAI Applications, wrote in a tribute cited by GeekWire. “He helped everyone around him, gave generously of his time and wisdom, and made people better simply by being in their corner.”
The GeekWire tribute said Somasegar’s death sent “a wave of shock and grief across Microsoft, Madrona, the VC firm where he worked the past 11 years, the many startups he invested in and guided, and the countless people he befriended and mentored.”
Somasegar studied engineering in Chennai before moving to the United States for graduate studies at Louisiana State University. He became one of the most prominent Indian-origin technology executives in the Seattle region.
His influence extended beyond Microsoft into the broader startup and venture capital ecosystem, including investments in AI, cloud computing and enterprise software firms. He was also associated with the Seattle Orcas cricket franchise, according to several tributes posted online.
