ayla-networks
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David Friedman Has Spent 30 Years Finding the Bottleneck Before It Becomes Obvious
Before AI data centers ran into a wall of copper, David Friedman had already made a career out of standing where hardware, software and manufacturing collide. His latest act at Lumilens turns a founder’s oldest habit - spotting the constraint early - into an operations job measured in light.
John Grady
John Grady is the CEO of Ayla Networks, a San Jose-based IoT and smart home software platform that powers over 15 million connected devices and 250 billion annual transactions for brands like SharkNinja, De'Longhi, Canadian Tire, and Schneider Electric. A Boston College and Indiana University Kelley School of Business graduate with 20+ years in technology sales and operations, Grady rose through roles at Brown Brothers Harriman, Covad Communications, Pace PLC, ChargePoint, and Solar Mosaic before joining Ayla in January 2022 as Head of Global Sales and ascending to CEO in 2024. Under his leadership, Ayla was ranked the #1 US-based Smart Home Platform by ABI Research and announced a major Google Cloud partnership in April 2025.