Inside Merge: The $75M Bet on Open Source AI (Powering OpenAI, Netflix & Uber) | Shensi Ding, CEO

The Co-Founder & CEO of Merge joins GTMnow to break down how she built a company that now powers integrations for OpenAI, Perplexity, Netflix, Uber, Mistral, and enterprise logos like Mastercard, JP Morgan, and Amex, backed by $75M from Accel and NEA.Shensi gets tactical on the GTM decisions behind that growth: why she went enterprise-first into greenfield, why she's now layering a self-serve motion back on top (20,000+ self-serve orgs, 400+ enterprise customers), how forward-deployed engineers turned a 1% edge case into 5 to 10x usage growth, and why she rebuilt marketing to run like an engineering team. She also gets candid on founder-led sales, the mercenaries-versus-missionaries hiring trap, the open-source model shift and the China question, and why every founder who started pre-AI should build one product 0-to-1 themselves.What you'll learn:- Why she reversed the standard GTM playbook (enterprise first, then PLG) and how to run both motions at once- How forward-deployed engineers close the 1% edge case that unlocks 5 to 10x enterprise usage- Why marketing now runs like an engineering function at Merge, and how it took her from 1 to 2 dinners a quarter to 3 to 5 a month- Why product got fast and go-to-market became the new bottleneck- How to know when to hire your first salesperson (hint: you should be "dying" first)- The mercenaries-vs-missionaries test, and the "anti-sell" she uses in hiring- The 2026 shift away from "token-maxing," and how model routing cuts AI spend- The truth about open-source (often Chinese) models: where they're built vs. where your data actually lives- Why founders who started pre-AI should build one product 0-to-1 to understand what's now possibleChapters:00:00 Intro01:14 What Merge does: products, workforce, and three core offerings02:05 Agent Handler, Gateway, and the new Embedded Routing Stack04:52 The 2026 shift away from "token-maxing"07:29 Open-source models, the China question, and where data really lives10:14 How Merge works with open-source model providers12:00 What she's learned as a first-time founder: get over your ego13:22 Reversing the GTM playbook: enterprise-first, then PLG15:50 Running both motions: 20,000+ self-serve, 400+ enterprise17:31 Why buyer behavior moved to Twitter and brand19:06 Founder-led sales, and what a real sales process taught her22:27 When to hire your first salesperson23:49 Forward-deployed engineers and 5 to 10x usage growth27:00 Keeping go-to-market up to speed with product28:33 Rebuilding marketing as an engineering function30:45 The dinner agent: 1 to 2 a quarter to 3 to 5 a month31:24 How AI buying reshaped the marketing org33:54 Maintaining agents: prompts over legacy builders35:02 Mercenaries vs. missionaries, and the "anti-sell"40:25 The market view: from hostility to collaboration42:06 Is a valuation reckoning coming?43:07 Why she stayed hands-on building Agent Handler and Gateway45:18 What's next: training your own models off open-source46:52 Where to find Shensi and MergeConnect with Shensi Ding:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shensiding/X: https://x.com/shensiMerge: https://merge.devHost: Sophie Buonassisi, SVP at GTMnowLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophiebuonassisi/X: https://x.com/sophiebuonaAbout the guest: Shensi Ding is the co-founder and CEO of Merge, a unified API platform that now spans product integrations, agent tooling, and LLM routing/governance. Merge powers companies including OpenAI, Perplexity, Netflix, Uber, and Mistral, and enterprise customers like Mastercard, JP Morgan, and Amex. The company has raised $75M from Accel and NEA.Thank you to our sponsor:Primer unlocks B2C ad channels for B2B marketers with precision targeting and next-gen measurement. GTMnow Network exclusive offer: Extended 45 day trial and 15% off with code GTM15 - just apply the code when you go to upgrade from the free trial.See who’s really in your funnel: sayprimer.comAbout GTMnow: GTMnow is the media arm of GTMfund, sharing the strategies, tactics, and stories from the operators and investors building the next generation of go-to-market.Visit us on: https://gtmnow.comFollow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gtmnowFollow us on X (Twitter): https://x.com/GTMnow_Follow us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@GTM_nowFollow us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@gtmnow_Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gtmnow_/The GTMnow Podcast The GTMnow Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.