Silicon Valley, Seattle Pay Tribute To Microsoft Veteran Soma Somasegar, 59

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – The global technology community is mourning the death of former Microsoft executive and Madrona Venture Group managing director S. “Soma” Somasegar, who was widely credited with shaping Microsoft’s developer ecosystem and mentoring generations 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 19, 2026,” a family memorial message said.

Somasegar died at the age of 59. Tributes poured in from across Silicon Valley and Seattle following news of his death. He spent nearly 27 years at Microsoft before joining Madrona Venture Group in 2015.

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 had served on the board of directors since 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.”

Technology 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.”

Technology news publication GeekWire described Somasegar as “a champion of developers and startups” who mentored 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.

Somasegar later joined Madrona Venture Group, where he focused on investments in artificial intelligence, machine learning, cloud infrastructure and intelligent applications.

Somasegar studied engineering in Chennai before moving to the United States for graduate studies at Louisiana State University. (IANS)