Tech world mourns Indian-origin Microsoft veteran Soma
Washington, May 21
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.
— IANS
Reader Comments
I'm a software developer who cut his teeth on .NET back in the 2000s. Soma's work on Visual Studio and the .NET framework was instrumental in my career. It's sad to see him go so early. Gone too soon, but his legacy in India's developer community will live on through the Hyderabad center he helped found.
My condolences to his family. However, I can't help but think how many brilliant Indian engineers we lose to the US. Soma's story is inspiring, but it also makes me wonder why we can't create such ecosystems in India to keep our talent here. He did great work for Microsoft, but India also needs its own champions building here.
As someone who worked in Redmond in the early 2000s, I can confirm Soma was one of the most humble and approachable senior leaders at Microsoft. He'd take time to mentor junior engineers even when he was running the entire Developer Division. The tech world has lost a true gentleman. Rest in peace, Soma.
The news about Sriram Krishnan's tribute really touched me. To know that Soma went out of his way to help undergraduate students get their first jobs shows the kind of person he was. In a world of cutthroat competition, he used his power to lift others up. That's a real legacy. Om Shanti. 🕊️
Hyderabad's tech ecosystem owes so much to this man. The Microsoft India Development Center he founded in 1998 became a training ground for thousands of Indian engineers. I know many who started their careers there and went on to become leaders in tech today.
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