Orpheus Ocean is revolutionizing how humanity explores Earth’s final frontier.
We believe that the deep ocean no longer needs to be a mystery. We’re building the tools to enable routine access to the most unexplored places on the planet, to increase our understanding and enable informed decision-making, conservation, and resource management. We take our name from the legend of Orpheus, a poet who ventured beyond the boundaries of the known mortal world into the depths of Hades. Though he tragically failed to rescue his lover Eurydice, he brought back secrets from the underworld, rendered in story and song, for the enlightenment of mankind. In this vein, we provide the ability to journey anywhere in the ocean, including the “Hadal” zone below 6,000 meters, and illuminate these depths for the benefit of all.
Our Team

Jake Russell, Ph.D.
Co-founder & CEO
Scientist turned entrepreneur, Jake was an Operating Partner with ocean investor Propeller VC, and previously developed multimillion dollar programs at the Department of Energy’s moonshot tech agency ARPA-E.

Casey Machado
Co-founder & CTO
Lifelong inventor and ocean explorer, Casey piloted and designed ROVs and AUVs to explore Earth’s most hard-to-reach places during an 18 year career at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.

Chris DeCollibus
VP of Development
Bringing 15 years experience at Anduril, Dive Technologies, and Teledyne, Chris leads defense applications and development for Orpheus.

Francesca Daszak
Founding Robotics Engineer
Francesca is a roboticist passionate about democratizing access to deep ocean environments, having cut her teeth on autonomous vehicles at Woods Hole Oceanographic and the University of Rochester.
Ethan Moore
Robotics Mechanical Engineer
As employee #2 at VATN System, Ethan learned how to build marine robotics systems from the ground up. Now he's using those skills to help Orpheus reach the deepest seafloor.
Benjamin Erwin
Head of Marine Ops
With many expeditions and many different robots under his belt, Ben leads offshore operations for Orpheus. Claim to fame: first person to ever image the colossal squid in its natural habitat.

Kiki Sarpong
Software Engineer
Kiki is an expert in robotics software development, and has experience building autonomous algorithms for multi-agent systems - now bringing that talent to Orpheus AUVs.

Sasha Khidekel
Mechanical Engineer
After leading her rocketry team to victory at Johns Hopkins, Sasha brings her mechanical design skills to help us conquer the other final frontier.

Vinay Naidu
Autonomy/GNC Engineer
With a background in GNC and autonomy, Vinay helps Orpheus navigate through uncharted waters, following a masters at Virginia Tech.

Jose Marin
Electrical Engineer
Jose joins the team as an Electrical Engineer after a very successful Orpheus internship and a degree at UMass Dartmouth.
Shalini Agrawal
Software Engineering Co-op Intern
Northeastern University Masters

Rachana Sudhakar
Software Engineering Co-op Intern
Northeastern University Masters

Josh Cameron
Mechanical Engineering Intern
UMass Dartmouth Bachelors
Our team is built on decades of experience at some of the world’s leading institutions of exploration and technology. If you feel the call of the deep, get in touch.

