DAQRI Focused on Growth as It Promotes Former Qualcomm Exec to CEO

Augmented reality headset maker DAQRI today named chief product officer Roy Ashok as the company's new chief executive officer to accelerate the company's growth.

Stepping aside as CEO, company founder Brian Mullins will continue to serve in an advisory capacity and as a member of the company's board of directors.

"Brian Mullins has built DAQRI from an idea to an augmented reality leader with innovative products that are transforming everything from workplaces to the automotive industry. We're now entering phase two of the company's growth, which will be characterized by product shipments at scale, a growing customer base, and all the opportunities and associated operational complexities that brings. Ashok's track record gives us confidence he is the right leader for this new phase," said Greg Casserly, DAQRI board chair, in an announcement.

Ashok joined the company in 2015, previously serving as an executive at Qualcomm. In his time at DAQRI, he oversaw the development of the company's Vos operating system and the shipment of DAQRI Smart Glasses, which will commence later this month. At Qualcomm, Ashok led the development of the Vuforia AR platform, which is now owned by PTC.

It has been the greatest privilege of my professional life to serve as CEO of DAQRI. Now, as the company transitions from its development phase to a global and scalable market leader in professional grade AR, Roy Ashok is the absolute right choice to take the helm and capture the huge opportunities ahead. I have known Roy for many years and have great admiration and respect for him as both a technical and a business leader, and I couldn't imagine anyone better for this role.

Since Mullins founded the company in 2010, DAQRI has developed a suite of augmented reality headsets for enterprises, particularly those in the construction industry, as well as the US military. In addition, the company's heads-up display technology has been deployed in more than 150,000 vehicles.

"I take seriously the responsibility of building on Brian's accomplishments. That starts with a seamless, laser focus on the continued successful launch of DAQRI Smart Glasses and our HUD projects for the automotive industry. We have the talent, operational processes, and industry relationships in place to convert enormous opportunities into growth that will spread AR capabilities everywhere," said Ashok.

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Cover image via Augmented World Expo/YouTube