Our Team
Dr. Eric R. Ball
Chairman of the Board
Dr. Eric R. Ball has served as our Chairman since February 2025. Since 2022, Dr. Ball has served as a Board member and the Audit Chair of SoundHound AI, Inc. Since 2016, Dr. Ball is a Founding General Partner of Impact Venture Capital, a Silicon Valley based venture firm investing in early-stage applied-AI start-up companies. From 2021 until 2022, Dr. Ball served as Chairman of the Board of Archimedes Tech SPAC Partners Co., a blank check company with $133 million held in trust which consummated its business combination with SoundHound AI, Inc. in April 2022. From 2015 until 2016, Dr. Ball served as Chief Financial Officer for C3 AI, an enterprise AI software provider. From 2005 to 2015, Dr. Ball served as Senior Vice President and Treasurer for Oracle. Prior to 2005, Dr. Ball served in a variety of finance roles at Flextronics International, Cisco Systems, Avery Dennison, and AT&T. Dr. Ball has served as Chairman of the Board of CapConnect+, a start-up company that is focused on linking corporate bond issuers to their institutional buyers, since 2020. Dr. Ball has also served as an advisor to Kyriba, a private treasury management software provider, since 2017. Dr. Ball served as a Board member and Audit Chairman of Glu Mobile Inc, a developer and publisher of mobile games, from 2013 to 2021. Dr. Ball received his Ph.D. in management at the Drucker School of Management – Claremont Graduate University. Dr. Ball received his MBA in finance and a Master of Arts degree in economics from the University of Rochester. Dr. Ball graduated with honors from the University of Michigan with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics. Dr. Ball is also the co-author of the book “Unlocking the Ivory Tower”. We believe that Dr. Ball is well-qualified to serve as a director of the company given his extensive finance, mergers & acquisitions, investing and public company experience in the technology industry.
Long Long
Chief Executive Officer
Long Long has been our Chief Executive Officer and a director since June 2024 and our Chief Financial Officer from June 2024 until February 2025. From 2020 to 2022, Mr. Long served as the Chief Financial Officer of Archimedes Tech SPAC Partners Co., which consummated its business combination with SoundHound AI, Inc. in April 2022. From 2020 to 2022, Mr. Long served as Chief Financial Officer of Global SPAC Partners Co., a blank check company with $169 million held in trust which consummated its business combination with Gorilla Technology Group Inc. in 2022. From 2019 to 2022, Mr. Long served as Chief Financial Officer of Ackrell SPAC Partners I Co., a blank check company with $140 million held in trust which liquidated its trust and delisted from Nasdaq in August 2022. From 2017 to 2019, Mr. Long was Vice President of Twelve Seas Sponsors I LLC, sponsor of Twelve Seas Investment Company, a blank check company with $207 million held in trust that consummated its initial business combination with Brooge Energy Limited in December 2019. From 2006 to 2016, Mr. Long worked for IBM in a variety of Corporate Finance, Audit, and Managerial roles, both within the U.S. and internationally. From 2015 to 2016, Mr. Long served as Finance Controller for IBM China’s Consulting Business Unit and Sales Channels. From 2013 to 2014, Mr. Long served as Strategy and Planning Manager for IBM China and, from January 2012 to December 2012, as a Senior Finance Analyst for IBM China. From 2010 to 2011, Mr. Long served as Internal Auditor for IBM’s Asia Pacific region and, from 2006 to 2009, as a financial analyst for IBM’s worldwide operations. Mr. Long graduated from Washington University in St. Louis with a Bachelor of Science and Business Administration degree, majoring in Finance and a Bachelor of Science degree, majoring in Electrical Engineering.
Daniel L. Sheehan
Chief Financial Officer
Daniel L. Sheehan has served as our Chief Financial Officer since February 2025. Since 2004, Mr. Sheehan has been the founder and managing partner of Silicon Valley Wealth Law, a law firm specializing in estate planning, tax planning, business planning, and special needs planning. Since 1995, Mr. Sheehan has been an attorney licensed in the State of California. From 2021 to 2022, Mr. Sheehan served as Chief Operating Officer of Archimedes Tech SPAC Partners Co., which consummated its business combination with SoundHound AI, Inc. in April 2022. From 2020 to 2022, Mr Sheehan served as a director of Ackrell SPAC Partners I Co. Mr. Sheehan has designed and drafted over 1,000 estate plans for clients throughout Silicon Valley. Mr. Sheehan has expertise in handling federal and state income tax matters and disputes, in the formation and operation of business entities, and has provided strategic planning and technology enhancement guidance to new business ventures and established companies. Mr. Sheehan has senior management experience with companies in a range of industries, including computer-aided manufacturing, real estate development, health care, mining, and law. Mr. Sheehan has frequently consulted with venture capitalists to review and advise them about investment opportunities. From 2011 to 2013, Mr. Sheehan was Chief Executive Officer of North Star Resources, a provider of technology for the extraction and refining of precious and strategic metals. From 1996 to 2004, Mr. Sheehan was a partner in the law firm of Davidson, Sheehan & Jewel. In 2010, Mr. Sheehan filed for personal bankruptcy under Chapter 13, which was completed in May 2014 with no debts being discharged. Mr. Sheehan graduated from St. Mary’s College of California with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Management with honors. Mr. Sheehan received his Juris Doctor from the University of San Francisco School of Law.
Ming Chan
Head of Finance and Operations
Ming Chan serves as our Head of Finance and Operations. From 2021 to 2023, Ms. Chan was the Head of Operations at SPAC Partners, supporting Archimedes Tech SPAC Partners Co. ($133 million held in trust, consummated in April 2022), Global SPAC Partners Co. ($169 million held in trust, consummated in July 2022) and Ackrell SPAC Partners I Co. ($140 million held in trust, delisted in August 2022). From 2000 to 2021, she worked for IBM throughout Canada, Europe and Asia-Pacific in Global Financing, Internal Audit and Finance Transformation. Ms. Chan holds an MBA from York University Schulich School of Business and is a CFA charterholder.
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Stephen N. Cannon
Director
Stephen N. Cannon has served as our director since February 2025. Since 2014, Mr. Cannon has been President of Everest Partners Limited, a privately-owned investment firm focused on Asian private investments. From 2020 to 2022, Mr. Cannon served as Chief Executive Officer and President of Archimedes Tech SPAC Partners Co., which consummated its business combination with SoundHound AI, Inc. in April 2022. From 2020 to 2022, Mr.Cannon served as Chief Operating Officer and President of Global SPAC Partners Co. From 2019 to 2022, Mr. Cannon served as Chief Operating Officer and President of Ackrell SPAC Partners I Co. From 2017 to 2019, Mr. Cannon served as Chief Financial Officer of Twelve Seas Investment Company, which consummated its initial business combination with Brooge Energy Limited in December 2019. From 2017 to 2019, Mr. Cannon served as President, Chief Financial Officer and a director of CM Seven Star Acquisition Corp., a Nasdaq-listed SPAC, sponsored by a leading Chinese private equity firm, which consummated its business combination with Kaixin Auto Holdings in April 2019. From 2014 to 2016, Mr. Cannon served as Chief Executive Officer and a director of DT Asia Acquisition Corp, a Nasdaq-listed SPAC, which consummated its business combination with China Direct Lending Corp. in July 2016. From 2010 to 2014, Mr. Cannon was a Partner and Head of China for RedBridge Group Ltd., a boutique merchant banking firm focused on Chinese and Arabian Gulf cross-border investments. From 2009 to 2014, Mr. Cannon was a registered representative of, and senior advisor to, Ackrell Capital. From 2007 to 2010, Mr. Cannon served as Chief Financial Officer and a director of Hambrecht Asia Acquisition Corp., a Nasdaq-listed SPAC, which consummated its business combination with SGOCO Technology Ltd in April 2010. From 2005 to 2008, Mr. Cannon served as a Managing Director of Asian investment banking for WR Hambrecht+Co. Prior to WR Hambrecht+Co., Mr. Cannon worked at ABN AMRO, Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, Smith Barney Shearson and Salomon Brothers. Mr. Cannon graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and a Bachelor of Science degree, majoring in Mechanical Engineering. We believe that Mr. Cannon is well-qualified to serve as a director of the company given his extensive finance, mergers & acquisitions, and SPAC experience.
Jack Crawford
Director
Jack Crawford has served as our director since February 2025. Mr. Crawford is a Founding General Partner of Impact Venture Capital since 2016. Previously, Mr. Crawford was a General Partner at Velocity Venture Capital from 2013 to 2016 where he managed the venture portfolio of Oracle. Prior to 2013, Mr. Crawford was an angel investor in various companies and served as a mentor in a startup accelerator program in partnership with the University of Pacific and, before that, Mr. Crawford was a Certified Public Accountant with PriceWaterhouseCooper. Mr.Crawford has also served as a member of the Board of Cornami, Inc. since 2017 and a member of the Board of TaskHuman, Inc. since 2019. Mr. Crawford also served as a member of the Board of Giga IO, Inc. from 2019 to 2022. Mr. Crawford was the recipient of the Kauffman Fellows Leadership Award upon graduation from the Kauffman Fellows Program in 2013 and he also served as an adjunct professor for multiple MBA programs with the University of Southern California and the University of Pacific through the Kauffman Fellows Program. We believe that Mr. Crawford is well-qualified to serve as a director of the company given his extensive finance and venture capital experience.
Vishwesh Pai
Director
Vishwesh Pai has served as our director since February 2025. Since 2021, Mr. Pai has served as Senior Director of Product Management at ServiceNow for its AI Platform. From 2021 to 2022, Mr. Pai served as technology advisor to Archimedes Tech SPAC Partners Co. From 2018 to 2021, Mr. Pai was the Head of Product in Amazon for the Amazon Alexa Multimodal Cloud Platform. From 2016 to 2018, Mr. Pai was a Director of Product Management at Samsung. Prior to 2015, Mr. Pai held various software and engineering roles in Infosys Technologies, Qualcomm Inc. and Ayla Networks. Mr. Pai graduated from Visvesvaraya Technological University with a Bachelor of Engineering degree, from North Carolina State University with a Master of Science degree in Computer Engineering, and from the University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of Business with a Master of Business Administration degree. We believe that Mr. Pai is well-qualified to serve as a director of the company given his deep product knowledge and experience in the technology industry.
Brent Callinicos
Special Advisor
Brent Callinicos serves as one of our Special Advisors. From 2021 to 2022, Mr. Callinicos served as a Special Advisor to Archimedes Tech SPAC Partners Co. Mr. Callinicos is currently an angel investor, active in investing in early-stage technology companies. From 2013 to 2015, Mr. Callinicos served as Chief Financial Officer of Uber Technologies Inc. From 2007 to 2013, Mr. Callinicos worked at Google Inc., including as Vice President, Treasurer and Chief Accountant. From 1992 to 2007, Mr. Callinicos worked at Microsoft Corporation, including as Treasurer, Vice President of Worldwide Licensing and Pricing, and CFO of the Platforms and Services Division. Mr. Callinicos is on the boards of directors of several companies including PVH Corp., a fashion and apparel company, Baidu, and Rubicon Technologies, as well as Acorns, a private company. Mr. Callinicos has a Bachelor of Business Administration and an MBA from UNC-Chapel Hill.
Dr. Luc Julia
Special Advisor
Dr. Luc Julia serves as one of our Special Advisors. Since 2021, Dr. Julia has served as Chief Scientific Officer of Renault Group. From 2021 to 2022, Mr. Julia served as a director of Archimedes Tech SPAC Partners Co. From 2012 to 2021, Dr. Julia served as the CTO and Senior Vice President of Innovation for Samsung Electronics. From 2011 to 2012, Dr. Julia served as a Director of Siri at Apple and was a co-author of Siri’s core patents. From 2010 to 2011, Dr. Julia served as Chief Technologist at Hewlett-Packard. From 2000 to 2010, Dr. Julia served as the Co-founder and Vice President of R&D of BravoBrava!, a tech incubator focusing on new interfaces for education, multimodal and multimedia products. From 2004 to 2010, Dr. Julia served as the CTO of ORB Networks, a start-up he co-founded that provided digital media streaming solutions for digital home and remote access applications. From 2001 to 2008, Dr. Julia served as the CTO of SpeaK ESL, a company he co-founded which leveraged speech recognition and web technologies to help non-native speakers to practice and improve their English. From 2000 to 2007, Dr. Julia served as the Vice President of R&D of Soliloquy Learning, a company he co-founded which pioneered the Reading Assistant that combines advanced speech recognition technology with science-based interventions to help children strengthen their reading fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. From 1994 to 2000, Dr. Julia served in several research roles at SRI International, an independent, non-profit research institute, during which time Dr. Julia co-founded Nuance Communications, now a multi-national software corporation focused on speech recognition and artificial intelligence. Dr. Julia received his Ph.D. in Computer Science at the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Télécommunications de Paris. Dr. Julia graduated from the University Pierre et Marie Curie in Paris with a Bachelor of Science degree and a Master of Science degree in Mathematics and Computer Science. Dr. Julia is the recipient of Légion d’Honneur, the highest order of France, Officer of the National Order of Merit, and is a member of France’s National Academy of Technologies. Dr. Julia is also the author of the bestselling book “There is no such thing as Artificial Intelligence” and holds dozens of patents.
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Maheedhar Gunturu
Special Advisor
Maheedhar Gunturu serves as one of our Special Advisors. From 2021 to 2022, Mr. Gunturu served as a Special Advisor to Archimedes Tech SPAC Partners Co. Mr. Gunturu has extensive Silicon Valley experience in Big Data, AI, IoT, Cyber Security, 5G, and software ecosystems and has led technology scaling and growth across various startups and major enterprises. As a senior leader at Amazon Web Services (AWS), Mr. Gunturu led global innovation in cloud and data solutions for complex customer needs, expanding AWS’s market influence. Since 2018, Mr. Gunturu has served as Global Head and Senior Director of Partnership Engineering at ScyllaDB, building strategic alliances to extend ScyllaDB’s reach in enterprise data. Previously, from 2016 to 2018, Mr. Gunturu was Director of Cloud Engineering at SmartThings, leading cloud initiatives that boosted the company’s consumer Internet-of-Things efforts. Previously, Mr. Gunturu had also served in various technical roles at VoltDB, MapR Technologies, Zscaler, and Qualcomm. An active open-source contributor, Mr. Gunturu has supported projects like Hadoop, Spark, Kafka, and PyTorch. Mr. Gunturu is also the Founder and CEO of Ittican, a non-profit focused on improving children’s quality of life. Mr. Gunturu holds a Master’s degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Texas at San Antonio.
Ben Landen
Technology Advisor
Ben Landen serves as our Technology Advisor. Mr. Landen began his career as one of the first Business Managers for Maxim Integrated’s automotive BU, helping the company break into the sector. He managed Infotainment and ADAS semiconductor product lines that he grew to $100M of revenue while earning his MBA, which galvanized his interest in venture capital and startups. He then joined DeepScale, a seed-stage embedded AI startup, as Head of Product & Business Development. There, he played a key role in raising a $15M Series A and secured projects with major automotive customers like Audi, BMW, Continental, and Visteon before DeepScale was acquired by Tesla. Following the acquisition, Mr. Landen joined Cyngn and helped drive its 2021 IPO on NASDAQ. He currently serves as the VP of Business Development for the industrial autonomous vehicle software company. Alongside these roles, Mr. Landen co-founded Superposition Venture Partners, which makes angel investments in early-stage tech startups and syndicates investments in late-stage private tech companies. Select investments include SpaceX, Kraken, Epic Games, Cornami, Ivee, and Volterio. Mr.Landen also served as an advisor to Archimedes Tech SPAC I. Mr. Landen holds an MBA from UC Berkeley Haas School of Business and a BS in Electrical Engineering from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo.