Growing companies with advanced AI

Chris Hasslinger is a senior investment partner at SAIGroup with over 25 years of deal-making experience across the healthcare and software industries. He is responsible for leading acquisition, investment, and partnership activity at SAIGroup.

Throughout his career, Chris has led a wide range of strategic transactions and value-enhancing partnerships, driving several billions of aggregate acquisition value. Most recently, Chris was senior vice president at OptumInsight, responsible for acquisition strategy and execution and partnerships for the critical healthcare technology and analytics business of UnitedHealth Group. Previously, Chris led acquisitions within Optum’s corporate development group, focusing on technology and related healthcare solutions.

Before Optum, Chris focused on growth companies in enterprise software for nearly two decades in investment banking, spending most of his banking career at Piper Jaffray, where he led the software practice. His banking experience includes buy and sell-side M&A and equity and debt financing in public and private markets for growth companies across a wide range of software sectors.

Chris has a bachelor’s of science degree from the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota.

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.

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.

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.

Erica leads SAIGroup marketing, working with SAIGroup portfolio companies to build awareness and create marketing programs that drive enterprise AI adoption across vertical industries.

Prior to joining SAIGroup, Erica was senior director of marketing for C3.ai, where she led content and drove a number of other marketing functions, partnering closely with product and sales organizations. Prior to C3.ai, Erica was senior director of marketing for SunPower Corp., where she led marketing for SunPower’s commercial and utility solar businesses across the U.S, Europe, and Japan. Prior to SunPower, Erica was a director of marketing at Cisco Systems Inc., leading marketing for a variety of emerging technology products. She also held leadership corporate communications and analyst and public relations positions in Cisco’s service provider business.

Erica began her career as a journalist at PC Week (now eWeek), where she edited several news sections, wrote a column, spoke at industry events, and covered a variety of markets, including telecommunications, networking, enterprise software, storage, and enterprise video.

Erica holds a bachelor’s degree from Duke University and has completed executive MBA programs at Kellogg School of Management and Oxford University’s Said Business School.

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.