Raj Gollamudi recalls the long trip he made from his home in South India to pursue a master’s in computer science at Clemson University. It was the fall of 1986 when his plane landed at Atlanta airport. He hopped on a train to Clemson, South Carolina, where he was immediately introduced to college football. His first thought? “What is happening here!?”
Gollamudi remains a staunch supporter of the Tigers and admits that he even “brainwashed my son to be a Clemson fan.”
But he doesn’t have much time for college football these days, as co-founder and managing partner of OnePrime Capital. Last month, the Palo Alto, California-based firm closed on $305 million for its third flagship fund, which will make direct secondary purchases from founders, employees and early investors in data infrastructure, cybersecurity, fintech, robotics and next-gen gaming companies.
“There’s a growing recognition in the LP world that, not just our firm, but our [secondaries] strategy makes sense for getting exposure to technology,” Gollamudi tells Venture Capital Journal.
What do you think about most every day?
I think about family and friends and how I can be helpful and be of service to them.
Best memory of childhood?
I grew up in the south of India, and when I was 13 we took a trip with my siblings and cousins and did a two-week trip of temples in South India. It was all by road. We saw a combination of culture and history; it was incredible.
Last book you read and would you recommend (why/why not)?
Outlive by Peter Attia. It’s about how to take care of yourself in a way that is holistic.
Dream job as a kid?
When I was really little, we had no money. We had nothing. My dream job was to be a taxi driver.
Favorite activity outside of work?
Trail running.
Favorite food or dish?
Food I grew up with – simple, home-cooked, traditional South Indian food.
Career advice would you give your younger self?
Take more risks. I discovered that probably in my 40s, in my younger days, I was too scared to fail.
What have you accomplished in your career that you’re most proud of?
I think being resilient. I’ve had lots of ups and downs, lots of dead ends, but I’ve never lost the optimism and enthusiasm for learning new things. I give credit to my mother for that. No matter how bad things were, she always said: “Tomorrow’s another day.”
What’s the most exciting space to invest in now?
That’s easy: everything to do with AI. I would say AI infrastructure, in particular. There’s certain things taken for granted as how things will work, but technologists and researchers have shown that they’re constantly raising the bar and making quantum jumps in how much more we can do.
