en.Wedoany.com Reported - U.S. robotics startup HaloBraid recently launched a braiding assistance device designed to help salons speed up the braiding process through automation. The company was founded by Yinka Ogunbiyi, who holds a master's degree in engineering and an MBA from Harvard University, and previously founded a smart cooking appliance company. Ogunbiyi stated that braiding has long been a manual task, and during the pandemic, she spent four days trying to braid her own hair, which led her to view braiding as a technical problem to solve. HaloBraid's first device is scheduled to launch later this year as a braiding assistant for professional stylists. The company has secured $7 million in seed funding led by Seven Seven Six, the venture capital firm of Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian. Ogunbiyi did not disclose details of the device, citing pending patent applications, but explained that it works by having the stylist start the braid and then hand it over to HaloBraid, which completes the rest in seconds. She noted that the product is gentle on hair and can help achieve knotless braids and Box braids.

In her research, Ogunbiyi found that people spend an estimated 8 billion hours per year braiding hair. In a survey of 2,000 people, 95% said they would braid more often if it took less time. Stylists working long hours may also face health issues such as carpal tunnel syndrome or arthritis. In Ohanian's view, a device that makes braiding easier has significant market and return potential. Ohanian is married to Serena Williams, a Black woman known for some braided hairstyles on the tennis court, and has two Black children who wear braids. He noted that his eldest daughter enjoys the first few hours of the ritual, but by the ninth hour, everyone wants to wrap up, and pointed out that while Dyson helped transform hair tools, technology for textured hair remains underdeveloped, making an automatic braiding machine clearly feasible. Other investors in this seed round include AlleyCorp and Bling Capital. The startup will use the new funds for product development, manufacturing, and establishing salon partnerships. In the braiding device market, HaloBraid faces few competitors, the most notable being Braidiant. Ogunbiyi said hair is difficult to handle and the braiding process is complex, forcing her to draw on methods from different industries, from materials science to inkjet printing, to build the device. She and her team of about 15 people are already considering manufacturing other devices, such as one that can undo braids. She said HaloBraid is the first product, but the larger vision is to create breakthrough technology that makes caring for textured hair faster, easier, more comfortable, and more enjoyable.

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