![](\"https:\/\/fortune.com\/img-assets\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Umesh-Padval-HiRes-2-1.jpg?w=2048\")
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The public markets are thinning, the private markets are exploding, and AI is wholly destabilizing both.<\/p>\n
Consider the past week\u2019s software meltdown: AI fears and stalled market dynamics vaporized $1 trillion in market value, rippling down to private companies.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe funding mechanism for the software LBO complex has short-circuited, IPO markets have been weak, and it\u2019s gummed up the machinery,\u201d said Paul Wick, chief investment officer at $30 billion investment firm Seligman. \u201cThere\u2019s no more red line where software stocks won\u2019t go below a certain point\u2026 It\u2019s a psychological shift, as well. People are more fearful.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wick has long been watching the public and private markets intersect and diverge\u2014he started investing in tech in the 1990s. In 1999, he first met Umesh Padval, then CEO at public semiconductor company C-Cube Microsystems. The pair kept in touch over the years, bonding over a shared love of wine and a realism about tech.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI had wanted to do something in VC for a long time, but it\u2019s hard to find the right people and the right opportunity,\u201d said Wick. \u201cAnd then Umesh was available.\u201d<\/p>\n
Seligman, today, is launching venture arm Seligman Ventures, a $500 million fund emphasizing early-stage AI investing, Fortune<\/em> has exclusively learned. Padval\u2014an early investor in Cohere, Relyance AI, Exaforce, and Harness\u2014will lead the charge, joined by Ashish Kakran and Eddie Ackerman.\u00a0<\/p>\n Unlike Lightspeed and Andreessen Horowitz which deploy billions, Padval is looking to stay considerably smaller: \u201cI\u2019ve always believed in the Benchmark-type model, stay in the $400 million to $800 million-range, build those companies, and get 10x from there. I\u2019m a firm believer in not having too much money, because discipline goes away.\u201d<\/p>\n The idea is for Wick and Padval, united under one LP, to share information, with Padval bringing what he sees early in the pipeline to Wick, and vice versa. To this end, Seligman Ventures will focus on AI infrastructure, cloud infrastructure, cybersecurity, and modern data center hardware. And it may seem counterintuitive, but from Wick\u2019s seat: The real value is showing up early, before later-stage investors fun-house-mirror a company\u2019s value.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a tendency for late-stage funding rounds to be aggressively valued, and the earlier-stage VCs love to see their investments marked up, so they don\u2019t put up a fight,\u201d said Wick. \u201cBut when you see these companies finally go public, their IPOs are not a resounding success. Many times, they\u2019ll be at the same price four or five years ago. No one\u2019s making money flipping IPOs. So, bringing Umesh and his colleagues on board with their focus on early stage resonated with me.\u201d<\/p>\n Padval and Wick, in some sense, are trying to solve a problem that everyone is trying to solve: As companies stay private longer, swallowing more capital than ever, where does value actually lie?\u00a0<\/p>\n A point in their favor is that, in a historic sense, the firm has been here before: Seligman has its roots in J. & W. Seligman & Co., an investment bank founded in 1864. And J. & W. Seligman & Co. helped finance the Panama Canal and railroads through the Industrial Revolution\u2014another era when new tech was destabilizing markets faster than anyone could map them.<\/p>\n See you tomorrow,<\/p>\n Allie Garfinkle Joey Abrams curated the deals section of today\u2019s newsletter<\/em>.<\/em> Subscribe here.<\/p>\n – <\/span>Loyal<\/b>, a Dallas, Texas-based developer of longevity drugs for dogs, raised $100 million in Series C funding. <\/span>age1<\/b> led the round and was joined by <\/span>Baillie Gifford<\/b> and existing investors.<\/span><\/p>\n – <\/span>Lassie<\/b>, a Stockholm, Sweden-based pet insurance platform, raised $75 million in Series C funding from <\/span>Balderton<\/b> Capital<\/b>, <\/span>Felix<\/b> Capital<\/b>, <\/span>Inventure<\/b>, and others.<\/span><\/p>\n – <\/span>GitGuardian<\/b>, a Paris, France-based non-human identity security platform, raised $50 million in Series C funding. <\/span>Insight<\/b> Partners<\/b> led the round and was joined by <\/span>Quadrille<\/b> Capital<\/b> and existing investors.<\/span><\/p>\n – <\/span>Equal<\/b> Parts<\/b>, an Austin, Texas-based AI-native insurance distributor, raised $23 million in Series A funding. <\/span>Inspired<\/b> Capital<\/b> led the round and was joined by <\/span>Equal<\/b> Ventures<\/b>, <\/span>Max<\/b> Ventures<\/b>, and <\/span>Genius<\/b> Ventures<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n – <\/span>Matia<\/b>, a Miami, Fla.-based data operations platform, raised $21 million in Series A funding. <\/span>Red<\/b> Dot<\/b> Capital<\/b> led the round and was joined by existing investors.<\/span><\/p>\n – <\/span>WINN.AI<\/b>, a Tel Aviv, Israel-based sales assistant platform designed for coaching and guidance during customer calls, raised $18 million in Series A funding. <\/span>Insight Partners<\/b>, <\/span>Mangusta<\/b> Capital<\/b>, and<\/span> S Capital<\/b> led the round and were joined by <\/span>Moneta<\/b>, <\/span>Highsage<\/b>, <\/span>Alumni<\/b> Ventures<\/b>, <\/span>Sarona<\/b> Ventures<\/b>, and <\/span>OurCrowd<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n – <\/span>Meridian<\/b>, a New York City-based AI-powered financial modeling platform designed to integrate with Excel, raised $17 million in seed funding. <\/span>Andreessen<\/b> Horowitz<\/b> and <\/span>The<\/b> General<\/b> Partnership<\/b> led the round.<\/span><\/p>\n – <\/span>Take2<\/b>, a New York City-based agentic AI platform designed for health care recruiting, raised $14 million in Series A funding. <\/span>Human<\/b> Capital<\/b> led the round and was joined by <\/span>Bertelsmann Healthcare Investments<\/b>, <\/span>Reach Capital<\/b>, <\/span>SemperVirens VC<\/b>, and <\/span>Honeystone Ventures<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n – <\/span>Scala.ai<\/b>, a Bellevue, Wash.-based intelligence platform designed for contact centers, raised $8.5 million in funding, including $7.5 million in seed funding. <\/span>Madrona<\/b> and <\/span>FUSE<\/b> led the seed round.<\/span><\/p>\n – <\/span>Upside<\/b> Robotics<\/b>, an Ontario, Canada-based developer of autonomous robots designed to feed crops, raised $7.5 million in seed funding. <\/span>Plural<\/b> led the round and was joined by others.<\/span><\/p>\n – <\/span>Bracket<\/b>, a London, U.K.-based FX, treasury, and cash management platform, raised $7 million in funding. <\/span>Macquarie<\/b> Group<\/b> and <\/span>Blackfinch<\/b> Ventures<\/b> led the round and were joined by others.<\/span><\/p>\n – <\/span>Pelgo<\/b>, a New York City-based agentic AI platform designed to help with career transitions, raised $5.5 million in seed funding. <\/span>Flybridge<\/b> Capital<\/b> Partners<\/b> led the round and was joined by <\/span>Eniac<\/b> Venures<\/b>, <\/span>Primary<\/b> Venture<\/b> Partners<\/b>, and<\/span> 645<\/b> Ventures<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n – <\/span>Heywa<\/b> Labs<\/b>, a London, U.K.-based generative UX platform, raised $5 million in seed funding. <\/span>Cherry<\/b> Ventures<\/b> led the round and was joined by <\/span>Openseed<\/b>, <\/span>Pareto<\/b>, <\/span>Plug & Play<\/b>, <\/span>Ventures<\/b> Together<\/b>, and angel investors.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n – <\/span>Seamflow<\/b>, a London, U.K.-based developer of AI software for the testing, inspection, and certification industry, raised $4.5 million in seed funding. <\/span>Northzone<\/b> and <\/span>Initialized<\/b> Capital<\/b> led the round and were joined by <\/span>Garry<\/b> Tan<\/b> and others.<\/span><\/p>\n – <\/span>Cydelphi<\/b>, a Dallas, Texas-based developer of an AI-enabled digital forensics & incident response platform, raised $3 million in seed funding. <\/span>Glasswing<\/b> Ventures<\/b> led the round and was joined by <\/span>Blu<\/b> Ventures<\/b>, <\/span>Hyde<\/b> Park<\/b> Angels<\/b>, and <\/span>Merlin<\/b> Group<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n – <\/span>Smarte<\/b> Carte<\/b>, a portfolio company of <\/span>3i<\/b> Group<\/b>, acquired <\/span>Lost and Found Software<\/b>, a Frankfurt, Germany-based developer of lost property operations software. Financial terms were not disclosed.<\/span><\/p>\n – <\/span>Bessemer<\/b> Venture<\/b> Partners<\/b>, a San Francisco-based venture capital firm, promoted <\/span>Maha<\/b> Malik<\/b> to Vice President.<\/span><\/p>\n – <\/span>Branford<\/b> Castle<\/b> Partners<\/b>, a New York City and Boca Raton, Fla.-based private equity firm, promoted <\/span>Marilyn<\/b> Yang<\/b> to managing director.<\/span><\/p>\n – <\/span>Copilot<\/b> Capital<\/b>, a London, U.K.-based private equity firm, promoted <\/span>Dave<\/b> Sun<\/b> to partner and <\/span>Zerxis<\/b> Billimoria<\/b> to director.<\/span><\/p>\n – <\/span>Felicis<\/b>, a Menlo Park, Calif.-based venture capital firm, promoted <\/span>James<\/b> Detweiler<\/b> to general partner and <\/span>Eric<\/b> Flaningam<\/b> to partner. The firm also hired <\/span>Michael<\/b> Chen<\/b>, who was previously with Applied Compute, as venture partner.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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