Image@ X/@USinNigeria
A Nigerian engineer has developed a machine designed to tackle one of the most time-consuming and physically demanding parts of a salon visit: braiding hair. Yinka Ogunbiyi’s startup, HaloBraid, has raised $7 million in seed funding to bring the device to market, with more than 7,000 salons already on its waitlist.
The funding round was led by Seven Seven Six, the venture capital firm founded by Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, alongside AlleyCorp and Bling Capital. Ohanian, who is married to Serena Williams, has two daughters who wear braids. The U.S. Mission in Nigeria highlighted the investment on X on Friday, calling it an example of “American innovation, global impact” and using the hashtag #AmericanExcellence.
Ogunbiyi earned a joint Master of Science and MBA from Harvard’s engineering and business schools. Before launching HaloBraid, she worked on smart kitchen appliances and Internet of Things devices.
Inspired by Four Days of Braiding
The idea was born during the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020, when Ogunbiyi spent four days installing her own knotless braids in her London apartment. By the second day, she began questioning why a process that had remained largely unchanged for thousands of years had never been mechanised. She compared the challenge to the invention of the sewing machine and wondered why braiding lacked a similar breakthrough.
She teamed up with co-founder David Afolabi to turn that idea into a business. Over the next four years, they surveyed more than 2,200 people who wear braids, interviewed 200 stylists and built more than 600 prototypes. Their work earned them Harvard’s President’s Innovation Challenge in 2025, along with $75,000 in non-dilutive funding.
How the Machine Works
HaloBraid isn’t designed to replace hairstylists. Instead, the stylist parts and sections the client’s hair by hand and creates the initial anchor knot. The machine then takes over the repetitive mid-length braiding that accounts for most of the appointment before the stylist returns to trim, seal and complete the hairstyle.
According to the company, this middle stage makes up about 80% of the time required for a knotless braid appointment. The finished machine is a sleek, beige standing unit that resembles a premium salon dryer.
Ogunbiyi rejects the idea that automation takes away from the cultural significance of braiding.
“I don’t think anything will get lost from the experience. If anything, it enriches it. Technology simply assists with the repetitive movements that consume the most time and place the greatest strain on the body,” she said.
Reducing Hours and Physical Strain
Ogunbiyi says her research suggests people spend around 8 billion hours in braiding chairs, with Black women making up the majority of that total. Her goal is to give some of that time back while reducing the physical demands on stylists.
Years of repetitive braiding can contribute to injuries such as carpal tunnel syndrome and arthritis. HaloBraid says automating the most repetitive section of the process will allow stylists to serve more clients, increase salon revenue and extend their careers.
The company also sees strong consumer demand. In a survey of 2,000 people, 95% said they would get braids more often if salon appointments were shorter.
Rollout Plans
HaloBraid plans to begin rolling out the machine to partner salons this fall, although public demonstrations have yet to be released.
The company is already working on its next project. Ogunbiyi says the team is exploring a machine that can remove braids, another process that often takes hours, as part of a broader effort to develop engineering solutions for textured hair.
With $7 million in fresh funding and more than 7,000 salons waiting to adopt the technology, HaloBraid is moving from prototype to commercial launch, betting that one of the world’s oldest hairstyling traditions is ready for a modern technological upgrade.
By: Andrews Kwesi Yeboah