This Nigerian’s Robotics Company just signed a Sales Deal with Apple

Silas’ company has built the world’s first augmented reality gaming robots, and it looks like he can only break more ground. Reach Robotics signed an exclusive sales deal with Apple. This deal will see his robots, Mekamon, sold exclusively in Apple stores in the UK and US.

What the heck is a MekaMon?

Or Meka Monsters. These robots combine real world game play with augmented reality, seamlessly. The robots are made of plastic, and are controlled from a smartphone app, which actually creates the virtual world for battle and exploring.

Silas told Techcrunch:

“I demoed to (Apple) at GDC. One of our investors set up a meeting and they loved it. At the time, I didn’t know they were going to announce ARKit. When I saw it, it made sense. It was the right direction.”

Players will be able to choose between real world play or and augmented reality. And from what we see in the videos, the robots will be able to move and use any as cover.

What does this mean for MekaMon, long term?

First of all, when a company like Apple wants to do business with you, it’s all the validation you need to be taken seriously. Also, Reach Robotics just raised $7.5 million in funding to help them build better robots. In the U.S. alone, there are over 260 Apple Stores. This could be a great way for the U.K. company to break into the American market, and help find new markets. The future, for Reach Robotics, has a lot of MekaMons in it.

The apps for the robots are compatible with both iOS and Android. The best part? You can actually personalise your MekaMon with weapons and shields.

Let's talk about Silas Adekunle.

"Hay, you people are claiming he's a Nigerian because he has a Nigerian name yen yen yen."

Well, he's actually Nigerian. He was born in Nigeria and lived here till he was 11, then he moved to the UK with his family. He studied at the University of the West of England, where he graduated with a 1st Class, before going on to hold a residency at the Pervasive Media Studio. His focus project was of course, the Meka Monsters.

In 2015, he was accepted into Qualcomm Robotics Accelerator, powered by Techstars in San Diego, U.S.A. Qualcomm, by the way, one of the biggest processor manufacturers in the world.

Speaking about this at the time, he said:

"I felt we were at a stage where we needed acceleration, we'd built some proof of concept robots and proved that we could solve some of the challenges that were stopping products like this coming to market. For the next stage we needed mentorship and experience, specifically based around hardware startups and robotics companies. Techstar's business building experience and Qualcomm's technical experience fit the bill."

So going from daydreaming about this product, to signing a partnership deal with one of the most valuable companies in the world.

That's incredible.