# Jifei Ou

> Jifei Ou is the founder and CEO of OPT Industries, a Medford, Massachusetts company that turned a decade of MIT Media Lab research into a new kind of factory. After nearly seven years spent learning to 3D-print fur, hair, and micro-textures no mold could produce, Ou built RAMP, described as the world's first roll-to-roll 3D printing system, which prints intricate microstructures by the mile. Rather than sell machines, OPT sells the products it makes on them - false eyelashes, beauty applicators, and diagnostic swabs that outperformed the gold standard during COVID. Ou raised $15M in Series A funding and is betting that reconnecting design and production can bring precision manufacturing back onshore.

- **Role:** Founder & CEO at OPT Industries
- **Organizations:** OPT Industries, MIT Media Lab
- **From:** Southwest China
- **Nationality:** Chinese
- **Education:** PhD, Computational Fabrication and Responsive Materials, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT Media Lab), MS, Media Arts and Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT Media Lab), Diplom in Design, Hochschule fur Gestaltung Offenbach (Germany)
- **Known for:** Founded OPT Industries and built RAMP, described as the world's first roll-to-roll 3D printing (digital photolithography) platform, Raised $15M in Series A funding, Created Cilllia at MIT Media Lab, enabling fast 3D printing of hair-like structures at ~50 micron resolution

## Career timeline

- **2016** — Publishes Cilllia at MIT Media Lab - software and process to 3D-print thousands of hair-like structures down to 50 microns
- **2017** — Cilllia wins an A' Design Award for 3D Printed Forms and Products
- **2019** — Earns PhD from MIT and founds OPT Industries in Medford, Massachusetts
- **2020** — Pivots during COVID-19 to produce 3D-printed nasopharyngeal swabs, scaling to ~20,000 per day and outperforming the flocked-swab gold standard
- **2022** — Raises $15M Series A to scale metamaterials manufacturing
- **2025** — Introduces RAMP, described as the world's first roll-to-roll 3D printing system, and launches the first US-manufactured false lash at scale

## Achievements

- Founded OPT Industries and built RAMP, described as the world's first roll-to-roll 3D printing (digital photolithography) platform
- Raised $15M in Series A funding
- Created Cilllia at MIT Media Lab, enabling fast 3D printing of hair-like structures at ~50 micron resolution
- Developed 3D-printed nasopharyngeal swabs that outperformed the gold standard and scaled to ~20,000/day during COVID-19
- Launched the first US-manufactured false eyelash product at scale
- Holder of dozens of US patents
- Won an A' Design Award (2017) for Cilllia

## Latest updates

- **2025-06** — OPT Industries introduced RAMP, billed as the world's first roll-to-roll 3D printing system, for the beauty and personal care sector, enabling 24/7 lights-out manufacturing at micron-scale resolution.
- **2025-08** — Ou continued championing US-based advanced manufacturing publicly under themes like #MadeInTheUSA and #ManufacturingExcellence.

## Links

- Website: https://www.jifei.info/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jifei/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/jifei-ou
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-07-01