Hafiz Shariff

Hafiz Shariff is a philosopher-turned-lawyer and serial deeptech entrepreneur working at the intersection of biology, environment, and human flourishing. After years in a leading “whiteshoe” law firm, he co-founded a UK bank in 2016, driven by a desire to reduce friction and pain in social financial interactions. This experience sharpened his insight into how large, well-intentioned systems can drift away from human needs. In 2020, Hafiz began building Aryal, a deep-tech platform launched in 2025 that maps individual circadian rhythms through what he calls a “circadian fingerprint,” combining personalised light intervention with advanced, non-wearable physiological sensing. Alongside this, he founded Cabin Anthology, a hospitality concept designed to counter isolation by creating biomimetic, rhythmaware spaces that foster creativity, community, and belonging. Grounded in philosophy, science, and systems thinking, Hafiz focuses on redesigning modern environments—digital and physical—so they support human biology, meaningful connection, and healthier ways of living together.