Meet Yinka Ogunbiyi: The African-American woman who has built the world's first ever hair-braiding robot

For millions of people who wear braids, a salon visit often means spending between six and 12 hours in a chair while paying hundreds of dollars for the style. Behind every appointment is also a hairstylist performing thousands of repetitive hand movements that can take a serious toll on their body.

Yinka Ogunbiyi, a Nigerian-American engineer and Harvard graduate, believes technology can help solve that problem without replacing the people behind the craft.

She is the founder of HaloBraid, described as the world's first braid-assist robot. The innovation was inspired by her own experience during the COVID-19 lockdown in London, when she attempted to braid her own hair for the first time.

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"I know this firsthand because I've worn braids all my life," Ogunbiyi said while introducing HaloBraid. She revealed that completing her own braids took four days, prompting her to ask why a hairstyle that has existed for thousands of years had seen so little technological innovation while industries like transport and medicine embraced advanced robotics.

That idea has since grown into a startup that recently secured $7 million in seed funding led by venture capital firm Seven Seven Six, founded by Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, with additional backing from AlleyCorp and Bling Capital. Even before its commercial launch, more than 7,000 salons had already joined the waiting list.

Braiding remains one of the oldest beauty traditions in the world, yet the process is still almost entirely manual. Ogunbiyi estimates that people collectively spend around 8 billion hours braiding hair every year. A HaloBraid survey of 2,000 people also found that 95% would choose braided hairstyles more often if appointments were significantly shorter.

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While many assume a robot could easily perform the task, Ogunbiyi says braiding is one of robotics' greatest challenges because hair is soft, constantly moving and differs in texture, thickness and styling preferences from one client to another.

"It's very easy to make a bad automated hair braider," she previously explained, noting that her team tested hundreds of designs before creating a system capable of producing neat, consistent braids without pulling too tightly or too loosely.

Importantly, HaloBraid is designed to assist hairstylists rather than replace them. Stylists still section the hair, create the foundation of each braid and complete the finishing touches. The robot then handles the repetitive weaving process, which the company says it can perform up to five times faster while maintaining professional-quality results.

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"I don't think anything will get lost from the experience. If anything, it enriches it," Ogunbiyi said. "Technology simply assists with the repetitive movements that consume the most time and place the greatest strain on the body."

The company believes this approach could allow braiders to serve more clients, reduce physical strain and increase their earnings without working longer hours.

For investors, the opportunity extends beyond robotics. Alexis Ohanian said HaloBraid immediately caught his attention because, as the husband of tennis icon Serena Williams and father to two daughters who wear braids, he understands the time commitment required for braided hairstyles. He also noted that textured hair has received far less technological innovation than other areas of the beauty industry.

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HaloBraid's latest funding will support product development, manufacturing and partnerships with salons ahead of a wider rollout.

Looking beyond braiding, Ogunbiyi says her long-term vision is to create technology that makes textured hair care faster and more convenient. Among the ideas already being explored is a device that could help remove braids, another process that often takes several hours.

Reflecting on the company's journey, Ogunbiyi said the mission is about more than automation.

"Time is precious," she wrote in a recent LinkedIn post. "Halo gives that time back."

Rather than replacing the artistry of professional braiders, HaloBraid aims to preserve it while reducing the long hours of repetitive work that have defined the craft for generations.