Meet Yinka Ogunbiyi, the Nigerian-American behind the world’s first braid-assist robot
For professional hairstylists, creating intricate braids can mean spending several hours at a time making the same repetitive motions — a labour-intensive craft that often takes a toll on the neck, shoulders, wrists and back over the course of their careers. Now, Nigerian-American biomechanical engineer Yinka Ogunbiyi is looking to change that with technology. Ogunbiyi has secured $7 million in seed funding to commercialise HaloBraid, her patented braid-assist robot designed to help professional hairstylists significantly cut braiding time while reducing the physical strain that comes with hours of intricate styling. By bringing engineering and automation to one of the beauty industry's most time-consuming services, her work aims to modernise braiding without replacing the skill, creativity and artistry of the stylist. The seed funding round was led by Seven Seven Six, the venture capital firm founded by Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, with participation from AlleyCorp and Bling ...