Metalenz
Metalenz is a fabless semiconductor optics company that designs and commercializes metasurface (metalens) optics for 3D sensing, polarization imaging, and face authentication, serving smartphone OEMs, automotive Tier-1s, and IoT device manufacturers through foundry partnerships with STMicroelectronics and UMC.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2016
- HeadquartersBoston, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Metalenz does
Metalenz is a fabless semiconductor optics company founded in 2016 as a spinout from Harvard University's Capasso Lab, where its founders originated modern metasurface optics research. The company designs and commercializes meta-optics—flat, nanostructured surfaces that replace multi-element lens stacks—under an exclusive worldwide license to the Capasso Lab's foundational IP portfolio (150+ patents). Metalenz's core product family includes Polar ID (polarization-based face authentication for under-display smartphone applications), Polar 3D (depth-sensing sub-system), PolarEyes (polarization imaging platform for industrial and consumer use), Orion (pattern projector modules), and Gemini (structured illumination modules). The technology is manufactured at semiconductor foundries on standard CMOS-compatible process flows rather than in precision optical facilities, enabling wafer-scale volume production at single-digit-micron form factors.
The company serves smartphone OEMs, IoT device makers, industrial imaging integrators, and—via its expanded STMicroelectronics license—automotive Tier-1s targeting ADAS, LiDAR, and driver monitoring. Key partners include STMicroelectronics (primary foundry, 140M+ units shipped), UMC (40nm qualified, Polar ID mass production from Nov 2025), Qualcomm (Snapdragon reference designs), Samsung (Galaxy S27 Ultra evaluation), and Dilusense (China open-market distributor). Meta-optics materially reduces part count, module height, and BOM cost versus refractive alternatives for 3D sensing, polarization imaging, and structured illumination.
Metalenz generates revenue through a combination of IP licensing and royalties from foundry partners (ST, UMC), direct sales of evaluation modules, and increasingly through system-level module revenue as Polar ID, Orion, and Gemini reach mass production. Volume scaling is anchored by embedded design wins in tier-1 smartphone platforms, with automotive and industrial polarization imaging as forward growth vectors. The company has raised approximately $47M across funding rounds, including a $30M Series B in October 2022.
Metalenz firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Metalenz
- Legal name
- Metalenz, Inc.
- Website
- https://metalenz.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2016
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Metalenz is a fabless semiconductor optics company that designs and commercializes metasurface (metalens) optics for 3D sensing, polarization imaging, and face authentication, serving smartphone OEMs, automotive Tier-1s, and IoT device manufacturers through foundry partnerships with STMicroelectronics and UMC.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Metalenz industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Metasurface optics and semiconductor photonic components
- NAICS
- Special Die and Tool, Die Set, Jig, and Fixture Manufacturing (333514), Other Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing (3329), Ornamental and Architectural Metal Products Manufacturing (33232)
- SIC
- Optical Instruments & Lenses (3827), Laboratory Analytical Instruments (3826), Nonferrous Foundries (Castings) (3360)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Compound Semiconductor Wafers & Substrates (SiC/GaN/GaAs/InP/Sapphire) (HDAHAGAB)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- RF & Compound Semiconductor Foundries (GaAs/GaN/SiGe) (HDAHACAD), Optoelectronic / Photonics Foundries (Silicon Photonics/LED/Laser) (HDAHACAG)
Keywords
Where Metalenz is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Boston
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices5 records
Markets served
Metalenz business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- Licensing royalties to semiconductor foundries/OEMs: License agreement with STMicroelectronics (signed July 10, 2025; originally since 2022) for use of Metalenz IP in producing metasurface optics on ST's 300mm platform. License agreement with UMC for meta-optic manufacturing on 40nm process. Represents a recurring/royalty stream tied to shipments.
- Direct sales of meta-optics to OEMs and system integrators: Sales of Meta-optics designed to customer specifications and sold directly to OEMs (e.g., Dilusense for 3D sensing in smart locks and payment kiosks; smartphone OEMs evaluating Polar ID). The About page notes that Metalenz is "moving from being a component company to selling Polar ID, a system solution with a metasurface integrated to an image sensor."
- System-level sensing solutions (Polar ID): Polar ID is a full-stack biometric solution that includes metasurface design, hardware (integrated onto an image sensor), and machine learning algorithms — sold as a system solution to OEMs in consumer electronics, mobile, and IoT. Demonstrated on Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 platform.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | — | Quote-based / not publicly disclosed; request product brief |
| One time/ perpetual license | — | Licensing to semiconductor foundries (royalty-based) |
Go-to-market motion4 records
Distribution channels7 records
Marketing channels8 records
Metalenz product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Metalenz designs and sells metasurface optics (metalenses) — flat optical elements composed of sub-wavelength nanopillar structures that are fabricated in standard 40nm CMOS semiconductor foundries on 300mm wafers. Its commercial offerings include the Polar ID face authentication system, Polar 3D monocular shape-from-polarization imaging, the PolarEyes polarization imaging platform, Orion pattern projectors (3.9K and 18K), and Gemini illuminators, sold to OEMs in consumer electronics, automotive, smart home/industrial robotics, and IoT markets.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Polar ID: Payment-grade polarization-based face authentication system for smartphones, laptops, and other consumer devices, with a 2026 under-display variant.
- Polar 3D
- PolarEyes
- Orion
- Gemini Illuminators
Products and services
- Polar ID Under Display Polar ID Under Display is a payment-grade polarization-based face authentication configuration that operates beneath a fully powered-on smartphone OLED display, eliminating the screen cutout for smartphone OEMs and other consumer device makers. It builds on the Polar ID meta-optic, Samsung ISOCELL Vizion light-engine, and Qualcomm Snapdragon processing stack.
- Polar 3D Polar 3D is a monocular shape-from-polarization imaging product on the PolarEyes platform that captures studio-quality 3D facial data in a single image, separating diffuse and specular reflections to enable relightable selfies and photorealistic avatars processed fully on device. It targets smartphone OEMs and consumer device makers building advanced camera capabilities.
- Polar ID Face Authentication System Polar ID is Metalenz's flagship full-stack polarization-based face authentication system that combines a metasurface optic integrated onto an image sensor with post-processing algorithms and machine learning models, demonstrated on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 mobile platform. It targets smartphone, laptop, and wearable OEMs needing payment-grade biometric security with an industry-leading 0% spoof acceptance rate.
- PolarEyes Polarization Imaging Platform PolarEyes is Metalenz's system-level polarization imaging platform, billed as the world's first full-Stokes polarization camera module in a mobile form factor, which combines physics, optics, software, and hardware to characterize depth, material properties, and detect transparent objects for machine vision. It shrinks traditional lab polarization cameras by more than 5000x and serves AR/VR, industrial robotics, and machine vision applications.
- Orion Pattern Projectors (Orion 3.9K and Orion 18K) Orion is Metalenz's family of single meta-optic pattern projectors (Orion 3.9K and Orion 18K) that replace a traditional lens barrel of 4–5 optical elements with one flat meta-surface, delivering >150° field of illumination for structured light and time-of-flight 3D sensing. It is reflow compatible and stable at extended operating temperatures and is used by OEMs such as Dilusense and as the meta-optic in the Vertilite Starlight projector.
- Starlight Structured Light Projector Starlight is a structured light projector co-developed with Vertilite that pairs Metalenz's Orion 18K meta-optic (18,000 pseudorandom dots at 940nm) with Vertilite's Dolphin VCSEL for face authentication, contactless access, security, gesture recognition, obstacle avoidance, and automotive in-cabin monitoring. It is an open-market product for OEMs and system integrators.
- Gemini Illuminators Gemini is Metalenz's meta-optic illuminator product line introduced alongside PolarEyes to extend its portfolio into polarized illumination for sensing applications in consumer electronics, automotive, and industrial markets.
Quantifiable outcome
- 140 million+ metasurfaces shipped via STMicroelectronics (as of Nov 2025)
- +10 more outcomes
Companies that use Metalenz
Customer profileNamed customers6 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Metalenz technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration2 records
AI capability1 record
Feature5 records
Metalenz partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Seven partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.
- Samsung Electronics (ISOCELL Vizion)flagshipMetalenz selected Samsung's ISOCELL Vizion 931 NIR global-shutter image sensor as the light-engine for Polar ID. Sensor provides industry-leading quantum efficiency (60% at 850nm, 38% at 940nm). Samsung reported to be testing Polar ID for the Galaxy S27 Ultra.
- Qualcomm Technologies (Snapdragon)flagshipPolar ID is demonstrated on Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 mobile platform; uses Qualcomm Spectra ISP and Hexagon NPU for image processing and secure algorithm execution. Joint reference design and early evaluation kits shared with smartphone OEMs.
- VertilitecoreCo-developed the 'Starlight' structured light projector: pairs Metalenz's 'Orion 18K' pseudorandom dot pattern meta-optic (18,000 dots at 940nm) with Vertilite's 'Dolphin' pseudorandom VCSEL (1.5W, 391 emitters). Targets face authentication, contactless access control, security, gesture recognition, obstacle avoidance, and automotive in-cabin monitoring. Open-market product for OEMs and system integrators.
- DilusensecoreDilusense (Hefei, China) is Metalenz's first open-market OEM customer. Integrates Metalenz's 'Orion' meta-optic dot projector (30,000+ precise laser dots) into next-generation 3D structured light sensing systems for high-end residential/commercial smart locks and retailer/vending payment kiosks in China. Mass-produced by UMC in 12" fab in Singapore.
- United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC)flagshipManufacturing partnership for open-market mass production of Metalenz meta-optics. UMC released Metalenz's manufacturing process to production in its 12-inch wafer fab in Singapore. UMC manufactures the Polar ID meta-optic layer using its 40nm process and wafer-on-wafer bonding technology on 300mm wafers. Polar ID entered mass production in November 2025.
- STMicroelectronicsflagshipLicense agreement (originally 2022; new agreement signed July 10, 2025) broadens STMicroelectronics' right to use Metalenz IP to produce advanced metasurface optics on ST's 300mm semiconductor and optics production platform. ST has shipped over 140 million metasurface optics and FlightSense modules using Metalenz IP since 2022. New agreement targets biometrics, LIDAR, robotics, gesture recognition, object detection in consumer, automotive, and industrial markets.
- Harvard University (Capasso Lab)flagshipMetalenz holds an exclusive worldwide license to the foundational metasurface intellectual property developed in the Capasso Lab at Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. Metalenz was co-founded by Rob Devlin and Professor Federico Capasso. The Capasso Lab remains a foundational research partner.
Scale indicators13 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Metalenz competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- NIL Technology: Denmark-based metalens and metasurface optics company targeting 3D sensing, AR/VR, and consumer electronics. Closest direct competitor to Metalenz in commercializing meta-optics, competing for the same OEM design wins and foundry partnerships.
Emerging players
- 2Pi Optics: US-based startup developing meta-optics for sensing, AR/VR, and biomedical applications. Early-stage competitor with overlapping IP and target markets in meta-optics-based imaging and illumination.
- Imagia: Emerging player in meta-optics with a focus on compact imaging systems. Competes in the same wave of fabless meta-optic startups targeting consumer electronics and AR/VR sensing.
- Lumotive: Seattle-based company developing metasurface-based solid-state beam-steering chips for LiDAR, AR/VR, and machine vision. Uses a similar metasurface technology base as Metalenz but targets different end-applications (beam steering vs. imaging).
Broad incumbents
- Lumentum: Large incumbent in 3D-sensing VCSELs, edge-emitting lasers, and optical components for consumer electronics and automotive LiDAR. Supplies key components into the same smartphone 3D-sensing and structured-light stacks where Metalenz's Polar ID competes.
- ams-OSRAM: Global photonics incumbent offering VCSELs, structured-light projectors (Belago), and sensor solutions for consumer 3D sensing and automotive. Competes in the same structured-light/face-authentication value chain where Metalenz's Polar ID Under Display is positioned.
- Himax Technologies: Taiwan-based fabless semiconductor company specializing in display drivers and 3D-sensing solutions (structured light, TOF, wafer-level optics). Competes directly in smartphone face authentication and 3D sensing modules alongside Metalenz.
- Coherent (formerly II-VI): Major photonics and compound-semiconductor incumbent with broad optics, laser, and sensor portfolios. Adjacent competitor in advanced optical components for consumer, automotive, and industrial sensing.
- Sony Semiconductor Solutions: Dominant image-sensor supplier (including ToF and global-shutter sensors) for smartphones. Competes at the image-sensor layer of the same camera stack where Metalenz's Polar ID integrates meta-optics onto sensors like Samsung's ISOCELL Vizion.
Others
- STMicroelectronics: Metalenz's flagship licensing partner and FlightSense (ToF) module maker — not a direct competitor today, but ST's broad sensing, microcontroller, and imaging portfolio could in principle overlap with or substitute for Polar ID-class solutions in industrial and automotive end markets.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Metalenz social profiles
Digital presenceMetalenz financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Metalenz leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles10 records
Metalenz funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds4 records
Investors17 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Metalenz M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Metalenz
What does Metalenz do?
Metalenz designs and sells metasurface optics (metalenses) — flat optical elements composed of sub-wavelength nanopillar structures that are fabricated in standard 40nm CMOS semiconductor foundries on 300mm wafers. Its commercial offerings include the Polar ID face authentication system, Polar 3D monocular shape-from-polarization imaging, the PolarEyes polarization imaging platform, Orion pattern projectors (3.9K and 18K), and Gemini illuminators, sold to OEMs in consumer electronics, automotive, smart home/industrial robotics, and IoT markets.
Is Metalenz a public or private company?
Metalenz is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Metalenz founded?
Metalenz was founded in 2016. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Metalenz based?
Metalenz is headquartered in Boston, United States, in the North America region.
How does Metalenz make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Licensing royalties to semiconductor foundries/OEMs are the primary driver. The others are direct sales of meta-optics to OEMs and system integrators and system-level sensing solutions (Polar ID).
Who are Metalenz's main competitors?
NIL Technology is listed as a direct peer. Emerging players are 2Pi Optics, Imagia and Lumotive. Broad incumbents are Lumentum, ams-OSRAM, Himax Technologies, Coherent (formerly II-VI) and Sony Semiconductor Solutions. STMicroelectronics is listed as an others.
Does Metalenz have an API?
No public API is recorded for Metalenz.
What industry is Metalenz in?
Metalenz's product category is Metasurface optics and semiconductor photonic components. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDAHAGAB, Compound Semiconductor Wafers & Substrates (SiC/GaN/GaAs/InP/Sapphire), with a secondary code of HDAHACAD, RF & Compound Semiconductor Foundries (GaAs/GaN/SiGe). Its NAICS code is 333514 and its SIC code is 3827.