Vishal Sikka’s Hang Ten Systems Secures $32M Seed Funding to Ride the Enterprise AI Wave
Former Infosys CEO Vishal Sikka has launched his new AI venture Hang Ten Systems, securing $32 million in seed funding to help large enterprises navigate the AI transformation . The round was led by Mayfield, with strategic participation from Aramco Ventures and a group of angel investors . Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang has also joined the company’s board .
🏄 “Hang Ten” on the AI Wave
The startup’s name reflects Sikka’s philosophy about the AI revolution. In a LinkedIn post announcing the venture, he wrote: “AI is upon us all like a massive new wave. And I learned a long time ago that when there are big waves around, it is time to surf. Not just to surf, but to hang ten — to master the wave so well that you can walk all the way to the front of the board and hang your ten toes off the front” .
Headquartered in Palo Alto, Hang Ten Systems positions itself as an enterprise AI services company, building an AI-native delivery model that combines agentic code generation, reusable skills libraries, and specialised engineering teams . The company aims to help large organisations adopt AI more quickly and at lower cost, offering a direct alternative to traditional enterprise software implementation approaches .
🚀 Addressing the Enterprise AI Gap
Sikka’s venture enters a market where most enterprises struggle to translate AI investments into tangible business outcomes. As he noted: “A few are already reaping massive benefits, building in days what used to take years. But most are stuck at the starting line, or worse, and the gap is widening every day” .
Hang Ten focuses on software that runs core enterprise functions such as finance, human resources, and product development . The company argues that generative AI has radically reduced the time and cost required to build and customise enterprise software, cutting out long cycles of configuration, integration, and testing .
🌍 Early Traction with Global Enterprises
The startup is already working with marquee customers across several industries, including Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy and healthcare company Fresenius on AI-native project delivery .
Vinod Philip, CEO of Siemens Gamesa, expressed enthusiasm about the partnership: “Every enterprise I know is looking for sound trusted guidance on AI and help with dramatically improving major operational programs. I am very excited to see Vishal and his team tackle this challenge with Hang Ten” .
💼 A Leadership Team with Deep Enterprise Experience
Hang Ten brings together a seasoned leadership team drawn from Sikka’s previous ventures. The early crew includes executives who have worked with Sikka for years across SAP, Infosys, and his previous enterprise AI startup, VianAI .
Navin Budhiraja serves as CTO, Sanjay Rajagopalan as chief design officer, and Tao Liu as senior vice president of forward deployed engineering . This team combines decades of experience building the systems that enterprises actually run on .
🔮 What This Means for India’s AI Ecosystem
Hang Ten’s launch is a significant development for India’s AI innovation ecosystem. It demonstrates that seasoned technology leaders are increasingly betting on AI as the next frontier of enterprise transformation . Sikka’s deep understanding of AI—he was central to Infosys’s $3 million donation to OpenAI almost a decade ago—adds credibility to the venture .
The startup’s AI-native model could also reshape the IT services industry, challenging traditional models of enterprise software implementation . As Navin Chaddha, Managing Partner at Mayfield, noted: “Within a few years, the gap between enterprises that use AI to real advantage and those that don’t will define entire industries” .
With $32 million in seed funding, a world-class team, and early enterprise customers, Hang Ten Systems is poised to become a significant player in the enterprise AI services space, reinforcing India’s position in the global AI landscape .
