Where does Niel Ransom work?

Niel Ransom is Partner at Celesta Capital.

What check size does Niel Ransom write?

Niel Ransom typically writes checks of $100K – $5M.

Where did Niel Ransom go to school?

Niel Ransom studied at University of Chicago (MBA); University of Notre Dame (Ph.D., Electrical Engineering); Old Dominion University (MS, Electrical Engineering).

Niel Ransom

Investor

Partner at Celesta Capital

Raleigh, North Carolina

Writes $100K – $5M checks · typically $1.5M

Experience

Actelis NetworksMember Board of Directorscurrent2025 — presentFremont, California, United States
Celesta CapitalPartner2018 — 2024
OPNT B.V. | To be the best in Optical Positioning Navigation & TimingMember Board Of Directors2016 — 2023The Randstad, Netherlands
Saguna Networks LtdChairman, Member Board of Directors2015 — 2019Yokneam, Israel
MultiPhyMember Board Of Directors2010 — 2019Ness Ziona, Israel
Ransomshire AssociatesPresident & CEO2006 — 2018
RadiSys CorporationMember Board Of Directors2010 — 2018Hillsboro, OR
Quantenna CommunicationsTechnical Advisory Board2008 — 2016San Francisco Bay Area
PolatisMember Board Of Directors2009 — 2016Cambridge, UK
CARMEL VENTURES PRIVATE LIMITEDBoard of Advisors2007 — 2015Israel
Cyan, Inc.Member Board Of Directors2009 — 2015Petaluma, CA
Capella PhotonicsMember Board Of Directors2011 — 2014San Jose, CA
Ruckus NetworksTechnical Advisory Board2006 — 2012San Francisco Bay Area
DesignArt NetworksMember Board Of Directors2009 — 2012Ra'anana, Israel
Focus VenturesBoard Of Advisors2006 — 2012San Francisco Bay Area
KbroMember Board Of Directors2008 — 2010New Taipei City, New Taipei City, Taiwan
CoreOpticsMember Board Of Directors2007 — 2010San Jose, CA
TeknovusChairman, Member of Board of Directors2005 — 2010Petaluma, CA
AppliedMicroMember Board Of Directors2006 — 2009Sunnyvale, CA
Turin NetworksMember Board Of Directors2007 — 2009Petaluma, CA
Overture NetworksMember Board Of Directors2005 — 2008Morrisville, NC
Ellacoya NetworksMember Board Of Directors2007 — 2008Merrimack, NH
ECI TelecomMember Board Of Directors2006 — 2007Petach Tikva, Israel
BigBand NetworksTechnical Advisory Board2006 — 2007San Francisco Bay Area
AlcatelCorporate CTO1997 — 2005Paris, France
BellSouthSenior Director Advanced Technology Center1988 — 1997Atlanta, GA
Bell LabsTechnical Manager1973 — 1988Naperville, IL

Education

University of ChicagoMBA1986 — 1987
University of Notre DamePh.D., Electrical Engineering1971 — 1973
Old Dominion UniversityMS, Electrical Engineering1970 — 1971
Old Dominion UniversityBS, Electrical Engineering1966 — 1970

Skills & more

Wireless79Telecommunications84Electronics2Mobile Devices21Start-ups64Hardware5R&D5IP46Strategic Partnerships18TCP/IP3Broadband15Product Management47

+12 more

Business DevelopmentGo-to-market StrategyFiber OpticsWireless NetworkingProduct MarketingCloud ComputingOptical FiberSystems EngineeringLeadershipStrategyManagementEmbedded Software

From Niel's professional profile.

Colleagues at Celesta Capital

Anand Chandrasekaran

Managing Partner at Celesta Capital

Anita Rehman

Partner at Celesta Capital

Arun Kumar

Managing Partner at Celesta Capital

Charles Lespérance

Partner at Celesta Capital

David Goldman

Partner at Celesta Capital

Dr. Arogyaswami Paulraj

Senior Advisor at Celesta Capital

Dr. James Rothman

Senior Advisor at Celesta Capital

Frantz Saintellemy

Senior Advisor at Celesta Capital

Network1

David Goldman

Partner at Celesta Capital

Investors connected to Niel in public investor directories — a warm-intro map.

Frequently asked questions

Who is Niel Ransom?: Partner at Celesta Capital
Where does Niel Ransom work?: Niel Ransom is Partner at Celesta Capital.
What check size does Niel Ransom write?: Niel Ransom typically writes checks of $100K – $5M.
Where did Niel Ransom go to school?: Niel Ransom studied at University of Chicago (MBA); University of Notre Dame (Ph.D., Electrical Engineering); Old Dominion University (MS, Electrical Engineering).

Same school

Also attended University of Chicago335

Mark SusterManaging Partner at Upfront Ventures Shardul ShahInvestor at Index Ventures Sam BlackmanEntrepreneur in Residence at GV (Google Ventures)Clay FisherInvestor at Spark Capital Jonas CiplickasPrincipal at Scale Venture Partners Julia Gonzalez SandersPartner and General Counsel at Crosslink Capital

+ 329 more

Also attended University of Notre Dame203

Doug GrohAdvisor at CincyTech Jim HuntGeneral Partner at Lavrock Ventures Tristan HuntPartner at Averin Capital Joanne IshamSenior Advisory Board at IronGate Capital Advisors Alex FlorAssociate at TCV Sean CantwellInvestor at Volition Capital

+ 197 more

Also attended Old Dominion University12

Ryan BatraInvestor at Khosla Ventures Kaitlin DiDomenicoDirector of Finance, Management Company Operations at Mainsail Partners Lata SettyDeal Team & Limited Partner Advisory Council at How Women Invest Ashley KramerRevenue Leader, OpenAI at Stage 2 Capital Adriane BrownManaging Partner at Flying Fish Ventures Bill BarteeManaging Partner at Main Sequence Ventures

+ 6 more

Shared employers

Also worked at Celesta Capital18

Sarah LucasManaging General Partner at Lucas Venture Group Michael MarksFounding Managing Partner at Celesta Capital Sudhir RaoSenior Partner at Celesta Capital Nicholas BrathwaiteFounding Managing Partner at Celesta Capital Sriram ViswanathanFounding Managing Partner at Celesta Capital Lip-Bu TanFounding Managing Partner at Celesta Capital

+ 12 more

Also worked at CoreOptics330

Peter FentonGeneral Partner at Benchmark Cyan BanisterCo-founder & General Partner at Long Journey Ventures Mike VolpiInvestor at Index Ventures AdamAdvisor at Clear Ventures HowardAdvisor at Clear Ventures Wendy XiaoPartner at Northzone

+ 324 more

Also worked at Turin Networks1

Chris RustCo-Founder and Partner at Clear Ventures

Also worked at Alcatel166

Nick FrosstCo-founder of Cohere Viswa SankaranarayananVenture Partner at Monta Vista Capital AdamAdvisor at Clear Ventures Samir MatkiInvestor at Daphni Tony NystenPartner at OpenOcean Timo AhopeltoSerial tech entrepreneur and early-stage investor running Lifeline Ventures

+ 160 more