partnering with
Extraordinary founders
defining the next era of infrastructure
Our team has started companies, scaled them, and taken them public. We have written the code, built the teams, sold to customers, and sat on both sides of the boardroom. We understand the journey between a great idea and something an enterprise will actually buy, and we work alongside founders to build category-leading companies.
Seligman Ventures Doubles Deployable Capital to $1Bn
- Portfolio
Investing in the next era of infrastructure
Over three decades, we have built relationships that can change a company’s trajectory: enterprise buyers who become reference customers, corporate development teams at strategic acquirers, and innovation leaders who open doors others cannot. Located in the heart of Silicon Valley alongside Seligman Investments, we give founders integrated access to the knowledge, network, and resources of the full platform, from seed to IPO.
Clockwork’s software-driven AI fabric maximizes GPU utilization and makes AI workloads resilient to failure.
“Trusted partner”
“Umesh has been an exceptional partner whose combination of board-level judgment, operational expertise, and founder-first mindset has made a meaningful impact on our company. He is consistently accessible, provides thoughtful strategic guidance, and actively helps with recruiting, investor introductions, and key industry connections. Seligman Ventures brings far more than capital—they are a trusted partner committed to helping founders build enduring businesses.”
Rodrigo Liang
CEO and co-founder, Sambanova
“True operator-investors”
“Umesh is a true operator-investor. His deep understanding of the cybersecurity market has helped me make better board-level decisions—from fundraising strategy and timing to evaluating strategic opportunities. He’s also been hands-on with recruiting, leveraging his CISO/CXO network, and positioning us for the next round. I’ve valued his clarity, speed, and judgment throughout the journey.”
Ankur Singla
CEO and co-founder, Exaforce and Lumilens
“The ultimate founder’s ally”
“I have more than two decades of experience with Seligman and Umesh who runs Seligman Ventures. Umesh is the ultimate founder’s ally. His board-level judgment is incredibly sharp, owing to his experience as a successful CEO and founder in the semiconductor industry. What truly sets him apart is his accessibility—he is always there when the pressure is on, offering the exact operational credibility and clarity a CEO needs to lead with confidence.”
Faraj Aalaei
Founder and CEO, Cognichip
“Support for navigating critical decisions”
“Umesh brings a rare combination of sharp board-level judgment and real fundraising instinct. He doesn’t just show up to meetings, he asks the questions that matter, pushes us to think a step ahead, and has been a steady, trusted voice as we’ve navigated critical decisions, including our Series C. When it counts, he opens doors, provides valuable perspective and helps tell our story in a way that lands. Eliyan is a stronger company because he’s on our board.”
Ramin Farjadrad
CEO and co-founder, Eliyan
“Exceptional investing team”
“Umesh, Ashish, and Eddie are an exceptional investing team, combining deep domain insight, bringing thesis-driven perspective, founder empathy, and hands-on operational support. Their strengths complement each other naturally, providing guidance across strategy, operational governance, hiring, go-to-market, and follow-on funding had a meaningful impact on how we built the business. Their partnership has been foundational to our journey from early growth to scale.”
Sachin Aggarwal
Founder & CEO, StackGen
“Trusted partner”
“Umesh has been an exceptional partner whose combination of board-level judgment, operational expertise, and founder-first mindset has made a meaningful impact on our company. He is consistently accessible, provides thoughtful strategic guidance, and actively helps with recruiting, investor introductions, and key industry connections. Seligman Ventures brings far more than capital—they are a trusted partner committed to helping founders build enduring businesses.”
Rodrigo Liang
CEO and co-founder, Sambanova
“True operator-investors”
“Umesh is a true operator-investor. His deep understanding of the cybersecurity market has helped me make better board-level decisions—from fundraising strategy and timing to evaluating strategic opportunities. He’s also been hands-on with recruiting, leveraging his CISO/CXO network, and positioning us for the next round. I’ve valued his clarity, speed, and judgment throughout the journey.”
Ankur Singla
CEO and co-founder, Exaforce and Lumilens
“The ultimate founder’s ally”
“I have more than two decades of experience with Seligman and Umesh who runs Seligman Ventures. Umesh is the ultimate founder’s ally. His board-level judgment is incredibly sharp, owing to his experience as a successful CEO and founder in the semiconductor industry. What truly sets him apart is his accessibility—he is always there when the pressure is on, offering the exact operational credibility and clarity a CEO needs to lead with confidence.”
Faraj Aalaei
Founder and CEO, Cognichip
“Support for navigating critical decisions”
“Umesh brings a rare combination of sharp board-level judgment and real fundraising instinct. He doesn’t just show up to meetings, he asks the questions that matter, pushes us to think a step ahead, and has been a steady, trusted voice as we’ve navigated critical decisions, including our Series C. When it counts, he opens doors, provides valuable perspective and helps tell our story in a way that lands. Eliyan is a stronger company because he’s on our board.”
Ramin Farjadrad
CEO and co-founder, Eliyan
“Partner from startup to hypergrowth”
“Umesh is one of those rare investors who has sat in the operator seat and navigated the lonely role of CEO/GM. He’s been an amazing partner and advisor throughout the decades at all stages of my journey from startup to strategic pivots to hypergrowth. I’ve been blessed to know him and look forward to continuing our partnership.”
Stuart McClure
CEO/Founder, Cylance, NumberOne AI and WethosAI
“Empathy and practical advice”
“I had the privilege of working with Umesh when he led a round of funding into Skyhigh Networks. Umesh brought empathy and practical advice honed through many, many years of experience as a multiple-time entrepreneur and operator. I will consider myself fortunate to get to work with him again.”
Rajiv Gupta
CEO, Axiamatic & (fmr. CEO of Skyhigh Networks)
“Exceptional investing team”
“Umesh, Ashish, and Eddie are an exceptional investing team, combining deep domain insight, bringing thesis-driven perspective, founder empathy, and hands-on operational support. Their strengths complement each other naturally, providing guidance across strategy, operational governance, hiring, go-to-market, and follow-on funding had a meaningful impact on how we built the business. Their partnership has been foundational to our journey from early growth to scale.”
Sachin Aggarwal
Founder & CEO, StackGen
“Meaningful influence”
“Umesh was an exceptional board member and a deeply trusted partner to Berkeley Design. His judgment and hands-on involvement were instrumental in closing key customer relationships and navigating strategic M&A discussions. Over the years, I’ve consistently sought his counsel on pivotal decisions, and his perspective has had a meaningful influence on my growth as an entrepreneur and operator.”
Amit Narayan
Berkeley Design Automation (acquired by Mentor Graphics, a Siemens Company)
Our Team
Umesh Padval
Managing Partner
Umesh brings over 35 years of operating and board experience, including 19 years of venture investing.
Ashish Kakran
Managing Partner
Ashish focuses on early-stage investments across cloud infrastructure, AI/ML, cybersecurity, and modern data center technologies.
Eddie Ackerman
CFO & Operating Partner
Eddie partners closely with founders to build finance and operating functions that scale effectively as companies grow.
Where We Invest
AI + Cloud
Infrastructure
Agentic infrastructure and vertical agents
Agent networking
Context systems and data pipelines
AI at the edge
Training and fine-tuning infrastructure
Data Centers +
Hardware
High-performance, power-efficient AI platforms
High-speed scale-up and scale-out networking
Next-generation high-speed interconnects
Power-efficient semiconductors
Next-generation power and cooling systems
Cybersecurity
