# Metalenz

> Metalenz is a Boston-based deep-tech company that replaces stacks of curved glass lenses with a single flat, nanostructured semiconductor chip called a metasurface. Spun out of Harvard's Capasso Lab, it is the first company to mass-produce meta-optics, shrinking cameras and sensors for smartphones, biometrics, and 3D sensing. Its flagship Polar ID brings polarization-based, payment-grade face authentication to devices at a fraction of the size and cost of existing systems.

- **Founded:** 2016
- **Headquarters:** Boston, Massachusetts, United States
- **Founders:** Robert Devlin (Co-Founder & CEO), Federico Capasso (Co-Founder & Scientific Advisor (Harvard))
- **Team size:** ~41 employees
- **Products:** Meta-optics / Metasurfaces, Polar ID, Polar 3D, Time-of-Flight optics
- **Notable:** First company to commercialize and mass-produce meta-optics, Shipped over 300 million Gen 1 metasurfaces, 140M+ meta-optics shipped inside STMicroelectronics FlightSense dToF modules

## Products & services

- **Meta-optics / Metasurfaces** — Flat, nanostructured optical elements printed with semiconductor processes that replace multiple curved glass lenses with a single chip, enabling smaller, cheaper, higher-performing camera and sensor modules.
- **Polar ID** — A polarization-based face authentication system that captures the unique polarization signature of a face in a single image, delivering payment-grade secure face unlock without a bulky structured-light dot projector. Can operate under a phone display.
- **Polar 3D** — An imaging capability built on Polar ID that captures lighting-independent facial shape and surface detail from a single image, generating accurate 3D-ready facial data on-device.
- **Time-of-Flight optics** — Metasurface optics integrated into direct Time-of-Flight (dToF) modules for proximity and depth sensing, shipped commercially through STMicroelectronics' FlightSense series.

## Achievements

- First company to commercialize and mass-produce meta-optics
- Shipped over 300 million Gen 1 metasurfaces
- 140M+ meta-optics shipped inside STMicroelectronics FlightSense dToF modules
- Exclusive worldwide license to Harvard Capasso Lab metasurface IP, 20+ patents
- Partnered with Samsung and UMC to bring Polar ID to mass production
- Raised $47.4M total funding

## Latest updates

- **2026-02** — Unveiled Polar 3D, capturing lighting-independent 3D facial data from a single image for richer digital identity on smartphones and laptops.
- **2025-11** — Announced Polar ID is ready for mass production via UMC using a 40nm process and wafer-on-wafer bonding on 300mm wafers.
- **2024-02** — Confirmed Samsung ISOCELL Vizion sensor as the light engine for Polar ID face unlock.
- **2022-10** — Closed $30M Series B led by Neotribe Ventures.
- **2022-06** — Debuted meta-optics in consumer ToF systems with STMicroelectronics - the world's first optical metasurface technology in consumer electronics.

## Links

- Website: https://metalenz.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/metalenz
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/MetalenzNews

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/metalenz
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-06-07