Growing companies with advanced AI

Dr. Romesh Wadhwani is the founder, chairman, and CEO of SAIGroup, a fast-growing operating group of leading AI companies that deliver a new generation of advanced AI solutions to transform the enterprise. SAIGroup companies focus on driving revenue growth and operational excellence for customers in their vertical sectors, including retail, CPG, life sciences, payer/provider, manufacturing and process industries, defense, financial services, and media.

Prior to founding SAIGroup, Dr. Wadhwani was the founder and CEO of Symphony Technology, a strategic private equity firm that builds great software and technology-enabled services companies. Dr. Wadhwani founded STG in 2002, growing it from startup to $ 2.5 billion in combined revenue and 15,000 employees. Dr. Wadhwani was the founder and CEO of Aspect Development Inc., a B2B software firm. Aspect Development was acquired in 2000 for $9.3 billion, the largest software acquisition at the time.

Dr. Wadhwani established the Wadhwani Foundation in 2001 to accelerate job creation and economic development in India and other emerging economies through large scale initiatives in entrepreneurship, innovation, and skilling. Today, the Wadhwani Foundation is active in India and more than 20 countries across Asia, Africa, and Latin America.

Wadhwani Advantage, Wadhwani Entrepreneur, and Wadhwani Innovate are three large initiatives for helping hundreds of entrepreneurs start new businesses and grow existing SME businesses each year, creating a large number of new jobs. The Wadhwani Advantage initiative allows tens of thousands of students each year learn employability and soft skills and get placed in high-quality jobs.

Dr. Wadhwani and his brother Sunil Wadhwani have established the Wadhwani Institute for AI for Social Good in Mumbai, a research institute and global hub for developing AI solutions for social good in public health, education, skilling, job creation, and infrastructure. Indian Prime Minister Modi inaugurated WIAI in 2018. The institute was awarded the Google Prize in 2019 for one of its innovative initiatives.

In January 2020, the Government of India awarded Dr. Wadhwani the Padma Shri honor, the fourth-highest civilian award in the Republic of India. President Barack Obama appointed Dr. Wadhwani to the board of trustees for the John F. Kennedy Center. Dr. Wadhwani is a board member of the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, DC and is a member of the Gates Buffet Giving Pledge.

Dr. Wadhwani holds a bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay and a master’s of science and Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Carnegie Mellon University. Dr. Wadhwani received an honorary doctorate from the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay in August 2018.

Pradyut Shah is a senior investment partner at SAIGroup and oversees all investment and acquisition activity at the firm. He currently serves as a Director on the Boards of Symphony IndustrialAI, SymphonyAI Media and TeraRecon.

Pradyut was previously a Managing Director and founding member of Insignia Capital Group, a middle-market private equity firm where he served as a Director on the Boards of portfolio companies in the consumer sector. Prior to Insignia, he was a Vice President at Behrman Capital where he was significantly involved with a number of private equity investments from 2004 to 2011, including Athena Diagnostics, Brooks Equipment Company, Peacock Engineering Company, Pelican Products and WIL Research Laboratories. Prior to Behrman, Pradyut spent 3 years at Credit Suisse First Boston’s Technology Group.

He attended the Jerome Fisher Program in Management & Technology at the University of Pennsylvania, where he graduated summa cum laude with a B.S.E. in Computer Science from the School of Engineering and Applied Science and a B.S. in Economics with a major in Finance from the Wharton School of Business.

Eshwar Belani is an accomplished executive and a pioneer in the AI and technology space. He has a proven track record in transforming innovative ideas into ground-breaking products and services, fueling exponential growth, and reshaping the business landscape.

Eshwar is currently a founding partner at SAIGroup, where he identifies strategic investment opportunities and works with portfolio companies to spur innovation and growth.

Before SAIGroup, he held pivotal roles in several successful ventures. At Rubrik, he was instrumental in launching an innovative suite of IT infrastructure products, propelling the company to an annual run rate of $100M in just six quarters. As a founding executive at Rocket Fuel, his contributions were instrumental in the company’s meteoric rise from a start-up to earning over $400M in annual revenue and clinching the #1 spot on Deloitte’s Technology Fast 500™ list.

Earlier in his career, Eshwar founded Sensact Applications, focusing on IoT solutions, and iLeverage, which was acquired by Epiphany, where he later worked on its flagship CRM marketing and analytics platforms.

Eshwar serves as an advisor to emerging companies nurtured by Singularity University and Alchemist Accelerator. He’s also a charter member of TiE Silicon Valley. His academic accomplishments include a bachelor’s of technology degree from IIT Madras, a master’s degree in computer science and management of technology degree from U.C. Berkeley. He has authored several academic publications and holds six patents.

Deepthi Bathina is a senior healthcare executive with global health-tech expertise and in-depth experience driving P&Ls for growth-driven businesses ranging from start-ups to Fortune 50 companies. Deepthi has a proven track record scaling small to mid-sized businesses ($50M-$1B) and large complex businesses ($1B-$70+B) to sustain significant growth. Deepthi’s healthcare expertise includes payors, providers, interoperability, EHRs, AI, cloud platforms, clinical and pharmacy solutions, care management, behavioral health, consumer engagement, and digital health solutions.

Bathina is chair of the board of the Kerry Murphy Healey Center for Health Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Babson College. She is the former chief clinical product officer at Humana. She led Humana’s evolution to a product, service, and experience focus while overseeing the product design, development, and delivery for chronic condition management, behavioral health, social determinants of health, caregiver solutions, utilization management, care management, oncology, musculoskeletal and pharmacy areas across Medicare, Medicaid, and commercial segments. She also led customer success organizations at Humana, responsible for winning new business, implementations, and overall customer satisfaction. Humana is a Fortune 50 market leader in integrated healthcare serving over 16 million medical members, including over 6 million TriCare members.

Before Humana, Bathina was general manager of operations for the approximately $1B Healthcare Technology Division of Nuance Communications, the market leader in AI-powered solutions serving more than 450,000 clinicians at more than 10,000 healthcare institutions worldwide. She is also the former head of global operations for the clinical decision support division at Wolters Kluwer, leading product management, technology and engineering, global customer operations, implementations, and global IT infrastructure in 170 countries.

She founded HealthTech Ventures to accelerate growth-oriented health-tech companies across providers, payers, and consumers. She has been working directly with investors and boards at leading private equity and venture capital firms.

Deepthi has also held leadership positions in innovative companies ranging from Fortune 500, such as ADP, to start-ups. Former GE CEO Jack Welch directly chose her as his strategy consultant. In this role, Deepthi initiated and executed several strategic initiatives that influenced millions of business leaders and entrepreneurs worldwide.

She holds a master’s degree in computer science from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and an MBA from Babson College Graduate School of Business.

Jimmy Sourbeer is a principal on the SAIGroup investment team. His responsibilities include sourcing, evaluating, and executing acquisitions. Jimmy was previously a vice president at Resurgens Technology Partners, a lower middle-market private equity firm focused on software and tech-enabled services businesses. Prior to Resurgens, Jimmy was a vice president at PGi, where he assisted in leading the execution of strategic investments, deploying over $175 million in four acquisitions. Prior to PGi, Jimmy was an associate at ICG, where he was involved in identifying and investing in software businesses. He began his career in investment banking.

Jimmy holds a bachelor’s of arts degree in economics from Northwestern University and an MBA from Columbia Business School, where he was a member of the Private Equity Fellows program, received the Robert H. Montgomery Prize in accounting, and graduated with Dean’s Honors.

Jimmy is based in Los Altos, CA, and can be reached at Jsourbeer@symphonyai.com

Jason Williams is a senior associate for SAIGroup, focused on executing acquisitions across several verticals. Prior to joining SAIGroup in 2018, Jason worked as an investment professional at Golden Gate Capital and at The Gores Group, where he focused on investments in the industrial and technology sectors. Previously, he worked as a consultant in the Dallas office of the Boston Consulting Group, where he conducted numerous projects in the technology media and telecom industries.

Jason has a bachelor degree in neurobiology with a secondary degree in economics from Harvard College.

Mike is a director and head of business development for SAIGroup. He is responsible for all aspects of deal origination and qualification. Before joining SAIGroup, Mike was the head of corporate development for ESW Capital, a $2 billion private investment firm focused on enterprise software acquisitions.

Previously, Mike was a member of the business development team and led the technology efforts at OpenGate Capital. Mike began his career in private equity as an associate with Pegasus Capital Group.

Mike holds an MBA with a focus in finance and entrepreneurial management from Pepperdine Graziadio Business School and a bachelor’s of science degree in business administration from Pepperdine University.

Mike is based in Los Angeles and can be reached at mcashin@symphonyai.com.

Nick Balay is a vice president on the SAIGroup investment team, responsible for sourcing, evaluating, and executing acquisitions across healthcare and other vertical sectors.

Prior to joining SAIGroup in 2022, Nick was a project leader in the Minneapolis office of the Boston Consulting Group, where he served healthcare, public sector, industrial goods, and private equity clients on various topics, including strategy, data & analytics, organization design, and buy-side due diligence. Previously, he worked in corporate development at Optum/UnitedHealth Group where he evaluated and executed M&A transactions in healthcare information technology, services, and delivery.

Nick earned his MBA with high honors from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. He also holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Chicago with a minor in Near Eastern languages and civilizations.

Malik is a senior associate on the SAIGroup investment team, focused on evaluating and executing acquisitions. Prior to joining SAIGroup in 2021, Malik was an investment banking associate at GCA Advisors where he worked on M&A transactions in the software, advertising technology, financial technology, and tech-enabled services sectors. Previously, Malik worked at Beacon Tree Capital LLC as an analyst and Cisco Systems Inc. in corporate development.

Malik holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Harvard College.

Senjie is an associate on the SAIGroup investment team, responsible for evaluating and executing acquisitions. Prior to joining SAIGroup, Senjie was an investment banking analyst at Needham & Company, where he worked on M&A transactions in the software, internet, digital media, and consumer technology sectors. Previously, Senjie worked at Macquarie Capital as an investment banking analyst.

Senjie holds a bachelor’s degree in economics and statistics from the University of California, Berkeley.

Alex is an associate on the SAIGroup investment team, responsible for evaluating and executing acquisitions. Prior to joining SAIGroup, Alex was promoted from analyst to associate at Goldman Sachs in the healthcare investment banking group, where he worked on M&A, equity, and debt transactions. Alex previously interned at Graham Partners, a middle-market private equity firm investing in advanced manufacturing companies.

Alex graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in international affairs and public policy from Princeton University.

Adeel is an associate on the SAIGroup investment team, responsible for evaluating and executing acquisitions. Prior to joining SAIGroup, Adeel was an analyst in Houlihan Lokey’s investment banking division where he worked on M&A transactions in the industrials sector. Previously, Adeel worked in SVB Securities’ technology investment banking group where he primarily focused on transactions in the software sector.

Adeel holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Texas at Austin.

Alec is an associate on the SAIGroup investment team, focused on evaluating and executing acquisitions. Prior to joining SAIGroup, Alec was an associate in Citigroup’s investment banking division where he worked on M&A, debt, and equity transactions in sectors including software, internet, consumer technology and property technology sectors. Previously, Alec worked in Citigroup’s debt capital markets group, advising on corporate financings in technology, media, and telecommunications markets.

Alec graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of Connecticut, School of Business.

Alec can be reached at alec.pisanelli@saigroup.ai.