Ashish Kakran & Umesh Padval, Seligman Ventures MPs on AI Investing

Ashish Kakran and Umesh Padval are Managing Partners at Seligman Ventures, an early-stage venture firm investing from Seed to pre-IPO across AI infrastructure, cloud computing, cybersecurity, and modern data center technologies. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~This episode is brought to you by Nebius — the ultimate cloud for AI innovators.Nebius provides AI infrastructure you can count on, combining reliability and speed with flexibility and engineering support unmatched by hyperscalers.AI leaders like Meta, Shopify, and Higgsfield already partner with Nebius to run their AI workloads. Plus, venture-backed startups can save up to $150,000 on compute costs when they apply for access. Visit nebius.com or nebius.com/startups to learn more~~~~~~~~~~~~~Together, they have backed category-defining companies including Cohere, Harness, Isovalent (acquired by Cisco), Opaque Systems, SambaNova, Cognichip, Eliyan, and Smallest.ai, partnering with technical founders building the next generation of enterprise infrastructure. Ashish brings deep technical and product expertise, having begun his career as a software engineer building cloud applications before becoming a product manager at AppNeta. Previously a Partner at Sierra Ventures and Thomvest Ventures, he has earned recognition as one of venture capital's rising stars for his founder-first approach and investments in leading AI and cloud infrastructure companies. Umesh brings more than 35 years of operating, executive, and board experience, including serving as CEO of C-Cube Microsystems before its acquisition by LSI Logic and nearly two decades as a venture investor at Bessemer Venture Partners and Thomvest Ventures. Together, they combine extensive operating experience, technical depth, and long-term investing expertise to help founders build enduring companies shaping the future of AI, cloud infrastructure, semiconductors, and enterprise technology.TopicsInvesting in the AI infrastructure stack: where the next generation of billion-dollar companies will be builtWhat technical founders need to know about building and scaling category-defining enterprise startupsThe future of AI, cloud infrastructure, cybersecurity, and modern data centers#ArtificialIntelligence #VentureCapital #AIInfrastructure #CloudComputing #Cybersecurity