# Raghu Raghuram

> Raghu Raghuram is a General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), where he focuses on AI infrastructure and growth-stage investments. Born Rangarajan Raghuram, he spent nearly two decades at VMware - joining when it was a five-year-old startup and leaving as its CEO after guiding the company through the largest software acquisition in history: Broadcom's $69 billion deal. Before VMware, Ben Horowitz hired him at Netscape during the browser wars. That 30-year relationship brought him back together at a16z in October 2025, where he now helps lead the firm's AI infrastructure charge while serving as a consigliere to Horowitz himself.

- **Role:** General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz (a16z)
- **Organizations:** Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), VMware, Netscape, Digital Sunshine Solutions
- **From:** India
- **Nationality:** American (Indian-origin)
- **Education:** B.Tech / M.Tech in Electrical Engineering, IIT Bombay, MBA, Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania
- **Known for:** Led VMware from a 5-year-old startup to a Fortune 200 company with $13 billion in revenue and 37,000 employees, Guided VMware through the largest software acquisition in history: Broadcom's $69 billion deal, Orchestrated VMware's spinoff from Dell Technologies as an independent public company

## Career timeline

- **1986** — Graduated from IIT Bombay with M.Tech in Electrical Engineering
- **1996** — Earned MBA from Wharton School of Business
- **1996** — Joined Netscape as product manager, hired by Ben Horowitz
- **2000** — Left Netscape amid dot-com bust
- **2001** — Worked at Bang Networks and AOL in product/marketing roles
- **2003** — Joined VMware's Server Business unit when the company was five years old
- **2003-2021** — Rose through VMware ranks: product management, SVP/GM roles, EVP, COO of Products and Cloud Services
- **2021** — Appointed CEO of VMware (May 12, officially June 1)
- **2021** — Oversaw VMware's spinoff from Dell Technologies (completed November 2021)
- **2022** — Broadcom announces $69 billion acquisition of VMware
- **2023** — Broadcom-VMware acquisition closes (November 22); Raghuram departs
- **2024** — Founded Digital Sunshine Solutions
- **2025** — Joined Andreessen Horowitz as General Partner (October 2025)

## Achievements

- Led VMware from a 5-year-old startup to a Fortune 200 company with $13 billion in revenue and 37,000 employees
- Guided VMware through the largest software acquisition in history: Broadcom's $69 billion deal
- Orchestrated VMware's spinoff from Dell Technologies as an independent public company
- Drove VMware's transformation from virtualization vendor to multi-cloud technology platform
- Named CEO of VMware in 2021, joining the elite group of Indian-origin tech CEOs alongside Sundar Pichai and Satya Nadella
- Joined Andreessen Horowitz as General Partner focusing on AI infrastructure (October 2025)
- Key architect of VMware's software-defined data center strategy
- Recognized by IIT Bombay Alumni Association for distinguished contributions

## Latest updates

- **2025-10** — Joined Andreessen Horowitz as General Partner, focusing on AI infrastructure and growth investments
- **2025-10** — Ben Horowitz announced the hire, calling Raghuram's management and leadership skills exceptional
- **2025-10** — Gave Fortune interview with Horowitz discussing AI, computing paradigm shifts, and politics
- **2024-01** — Founded Digital Sunshine Solutions after departing VMware post-Broadcom acquisition
- **2023-11** — Departed VMware when Broadcom's $69 billion acquisition closed on November 22, 2023

## Links

- Website: https://a16z.com/raghu-raghuram/
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/raghuraghuram
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/raghuraghuram

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/raghu-raghuram
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-09