Joe Merrill

Joe Merrill is a seasoned leader with decades of experience across diplomacy, venture capital, technology, and education. Currently the CEO of OpenTeams, he works alongside Travis Oliphant to build core software powering modern AI. OpenTeams collaborates with Meta on PyTorch, develops Nebari to link neural network models to data lakes, and supports open-source projects like TensorFlow. Their clients include Meta, Google, Nvidia, OpenAI, and Amazon.

Previously, Merrill spent eight years as General Partner at SputnikATX, a venture capital fund and accelerator, delivering top-decile returns across 75 investments by “teaching nerds how to sell.” He is also an investor and board member in transformative companies like ModTechLabs and helped create a globally adopted project-based STEM curriculum as a founding board member of The STEM Academy non-profit.

Merrill’s early career includes roles as a senior executive at Apollo Global and John Deere, overseeing billion-dollar portfolios and expanding business in China. As a U.S. diplomat from 1998 to 2002, he supported the economic agreements of the Dayton Peace Accords and advanced energy diplomacy in West Africa. Holding an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and a BA from University of Califoria, Davis, Merrill is passionate about helping others achieve the impossible.