Partner, Business & Corporate Development
Houman Haghighi
A Business Development Partner at Menlo Ventures is dedicated to accelerating growth for the firm’s portfolio companies. He leverages his extensive network and experience to forge strategic partnerships, facilitate customer engagements, and catalyze additional financing rounds. His approach creates a thriving ecosystem where industry leaders actively collaborate with Menlo’s portfolio companies.
With a 15-year tenure at Qualcomm, Houman’s career spans engineering, project management, and product development. A highlight of his product innovation was Whispernet, the groundbreaking technology behind Amazon Kindle’s seamless book delivery. As head of business development for Qualcomm Ventures, he worked closely with high-profile companies such as AttackIQ, Clarifai, Cohesity, Fitbit, Ring, and Zoom. Houman also co-founded the Qualcomm Robotics Accelerator in partnership with TechStars, investing in ten early-stage AI and robotics startups during the sector’s formative years.
An inventor at heart, Houman holds two U.S. Patents in radio frequency modulation for mobile phones. His fascination with the interplay between the human brain and computers led him to pursue a degree in computational cognitive science at UC San Diego. Committed to continuous learning, Houman is a Stanford Certified Project Manager and has completed advanced coursework in venture capital and private equity through Harvard Business School’s Executive Program.
Supported by: Natalia Luporini, [email protected]
Ascend Communications
Ascend Communications, Inc. designed and manufactured equipment for high-density dial-up installations.
Acquired by Lucent Technologies
Cavium
Cavium was a provider of highly integrated semiconductor processors that enabled intelligent networking, communications, storage, video and security applications.
NASDAQ: CAVM
DataXu
DataXu was an enterprise data and analytics company that offered DX3, the first fully integrated omni-channel marketing management platform.
Acquired by Roku
Digital Insight
Digital Insight was a provider of online banking software to banks and credit unions. It also designed FinanceWorks, a product that allowed customers to manage their finances.
NASDAQ: DGIN, later acquired by NCR
FaxSav
FaxSav was an internet email fax service provider for small office and individual users, which later became known as NetMoves Corporation (NASDAQ: NTMV).
NASDAQ: EASY
Goodfire
Goodfire is an applied research lab building AI interpretability tools.
iBasis
iBasis is the leading communications solutions provider enabling operators and digital players worldwide to perform and transform.
NASDAQ: IBAS
ParAccel
ParAccel was the world's fastest DBMS for data warehousing and analytics.
Acquired by Actian
SpectraLink
SpectraLink delivers secure, cost-effective mobile communication solutions that empower enterprises to streamline operations, increase their revenues, and deliver a positive customer experience each and every time.
NASDAQ: SLNK
Spinnaker Networks
Spinnaker Networks was a supplier of next-generation NAS storage solutions.
Acquired by NetApp
Syntellect
Syntellect, Inc. developed and marketed voice, internet, and call processing services. The company offered services such as project management, system implementation and integration, application development, and speech services.
NASDAQ: SYNL, later acquired by Enghouse Interactive
UUNET
UUNET was the first commercial internet service provider and the world’s leading internet carrier in the 1980s and 1990s. The company provided a comprehensive range of internet services to business customers worldwide.
Acquired by MFS Communications
