Metalenz Announces Key Leadership Appointments as Company Readies Polar ID for Mass Production.
- Gaurav Aggarwal, accomplished AI and Imaging expert, formerly of Meta Platforms, Blink, Samsung Research, joins Metalenz as the VP of Software and Systems Engineering.
- Mari-Anne Gagliardi, fabless semiconductor operations veteran, formerly of Qorvo Power Device Solutions, United Silicon Carbide, has joined Metalenz as the VP of Operations.
Boston, MA – June 10, 2024 – Metalenz, the leader in meta-optics technology, is pleased to announce key leadership team appointments ahead of mass production of its revolutionary Polar ID face unlock solution. The new team members bring deep industry experience in AI, Software Engineering and Supply Chain Management.
Gaurav Aggarwal, accomplished AI and Imaging expert, formerly of Meta Platforms, Blink, Samsung Research, joins Metalenz as the VP of Software and Systems Engineering.
Prior to joining Metalenz, Aggarwal was Director of Backend Software Engineering at Snorkel AI. Before that, he held engineering leadership roles at Broadcom, Immedia/Blink, Samsung Research, and Facebook (Meta Platforms) where he worked on Oculus AR and VR projects and PyTorch Mobile. He holds an M.S. in Computer Science from the University of California, Irvine, and is co-inventor on 28 issued US patents.
“The core innovation that enables Polar ID, Metalenz’s biometric imaging solution enabling secure face unlock for billions of devices, is our metasurface technology,” said Rob Devlin, CEO of Metalenz. “We are excited to welcome Gaurav Aggarwal to our leadership team as we are developing novel machine vision solutions that leverage the unique capability of metasurfaces to extract all information in light. Gaurav brings a unique mix of advanced image processing and deep machine learning expertise that will enable us to launch not only the world’s simplest, secure, and affordable face unlock solution for Consumer Electronics and IoT Devices, but also use this rich information for new mass-market applications in wellness, safety, and environmental imaging solutions.”
As VP of Software Engineering, Aggarwal will lead various software development initiatives including image processing pipelines, embedded software development for Android, ML (Machine Learning) model training, and on-device deployment and inference.
“I am thrilled to be part of productionizing the next generation of intelligent machine vision systems,” said Gaurav Aggarwal. “Our Polar ID solution adds polarization information to the captured images. This capability is as disruptive as adding depth information to images or adding color channels to B&W intensity images. I am energized to be part of this world class team and am looking forward to us enabling large-scale deployment of our secure and spoof-proof biometric solution leveraging state-of-the-art image processing algorithms and AI/ML models.”
Mari-Anne Gagliardi, fabless semiconductor operations veteran, formerly of Qorvo Power Device Solutions, United Silicon Carbide, and Sensors Unlimited has joined Metalenz as the VP of Operations.
With a track-record of building successful semiconductor and optoelectronics supply chains, both captive fab and fabless, for innovative technologies and materials, Gagliardi brings a blend of experience key to the successful delivery of disruptive products at scale. During her time at Sensors Unlimited (an RTX business), she took a new SWIR image sensor technology to market, building full camera modules around the core sensor technology. At United Silicon Carbide, she helped to take a new material technology at the time, from university concept to mass production. She saw both Sensors Unlimited and United SiC through successful acquisition and stayed on for the transfer and integration of the products at the acquiring company. At Metalenz, she oversees the company’s activities across all aspects of operations.
“We are thrilled to have Mari-Anne on our leadership team,” said Devlin. “As we move from being a component company to selling Polar ID, a system solution with a metasurface integrated to an image sensor, Mari-Anne brings key experience that will help us successfully deliver a disruptive product.”
Before Metalenz, Gagliardi served as Director of Operations at Qorvo Power Device Solutions and as VP of Operations for United Silicon Carbide Inc. where she focused on developing company’s SiC product supply chains, integrating legacy processes and tools while driving rapid growth.
About Metalenz
Metalenz is at the forefront of driving innovation in optics with metasurface technology, providing high performance solutions for consumer device OEMs that redefine the possibilities of mobile imaging and 3D sensing.
Metalenz is the first company to bring metasurfaces to mass markets, with millions of its meta-optics already integrated in consumer devices, combining the functionality of three or four complex lenses and components into a single flat device, mass produced in existing semiconductor foundries.
Built on pioneering research from Harvard University, Metalenz is backed by several prominent semiconductor companies, including, Intel Capital, TDK Ventures, and Applied Ventures.
The company’s biometric imaging solution, Polar ID, is a groundbreaking, ultra-secure, small, and affordable face unlock solution for mobile that harnesses the unique polarized light sorting capabilities of metasurfaces. Running on Snapdragon, this first of its kind full system solution enables mobile devices to see beyond the limits of current visual systems.
For press inquiries contact:
media@metalenz.com
