Hair braiding hasn't changed in 5,000 years—until Nigerian-American Harvard graduate Yinka Ogunbiyi built the world's first hair-braiding robot

• Nigerian-American engineer Yinka Ogunbiyi created HaloBraid, the world's first braid-assist robot, to make hair braiding faster while reducing the physical strain on hairstylists.

• The robot works alongside professional braiders, completing repetitive weaving while stylists handle the creative and technical aspects of the hairstyle.

• HaloBraid has raised $7 million and attracted more than 7,000 salons to its waitlist, highlighting growing interest in technology that could transform the hair-braiding industry.

Imagine if every time you got your hair braided, you had to spend six hours in a salon chair, pay between $200 and $300, and leave knowing your hairstylist had spent another day putting immense strain on their wrists, fingers and shoulders.

That’s the routine for millions of people.

"I know this firsthand because I've worn braids all my life," Nigerian-American engineer and Harvard graduate Yinka Ogunbiyi said while introducing HaloBraid, the world's first braid-assist robot.

She recalled trying to braid her own hair during the COVID-19 lockdown in London. It was her first attempt, and it took four days.

That experience led her to ask a simple question: if cars can drive themselves and robots can perform delicate surgeries, why has one of the world's oldest and most popular hairstyles barely changed over thousands of years?

The answer became HaloBraid.

Today, the startup has raised $7 million in seed funding led by venture capital firm Seven Seven Six, founded by Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, with participation from AlleyCorp and Bling Capital. 

Before the product has even launched commercially, more than 7,000 salons have already joined the waitlist.

Braiding is one of humanity's oldest beauty practices, dating back thousands of years. While hairstyles, products and salon equipment have evolved dramatically, the act of braiding itself has remained almost entirely manual.

For people with textured hair, that often means appointments lasting anywhere from six to 12 hours, depending on the style. Many repeat the process every six to eight weeks. 

Ogunbiyi estimates that people collectively spend around 8 billion hours braiding hair every year.

In a survey conducted by HaloBraid involving 2,000 people, 95% said they would wear braids more often if appointments took less time. 

But the time commitment isn't the only problem.

Professional braiders perform the same intricate finger movements thousands of times a day. 

Years of repetitive motion can contribute to conditions such as carpal tunnel syndrome, arthritis and other repetitive strain injuries, forcing some stylists to reduce their workload or leave the profession altogether. 

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At first glance, braiding might seem repetitive enough for automation.

In reality, it's one of robotics' toughest challenges.

Hair is soft, flexible and constantly moving. Every client has different hair textures, densities and braid preferences. 

The robot has to maintain consistent tension, avoid tangling hair, create neat braids and work comfortably on a person's head, all while moving quickly.

"It's very easy to make a bad automated hair braider," Ogunbiyi previously explained. 

Her team went through hundreds of design iterations to ensure the device could grip hair properly, produce high-quality braids and avoid pulling too tightly or too loosely. 

She has described hair as one of the "trickiest substrates in the world to manipulate", saying the company borrowed techniques from fields as varied as material science and even inkjet printing to make the technology work. 

The difficulty helps explain why, despite decades of advances in robotics, no company had successfully commercialised a braid-assist system until now.

One of the biggest misconceptions about HaloBraid is that it replaces the hairstylist.

It doesn't.

Instead, the company describes it as a braid assistant.

The appointment still begins with the stylist, who parts the hair, creates clean sections and manually forms the foundational anchor knot that determines the braid's appearance and tension.

Only then does HaloBraid attach to complete the repetitive downshaft weaving motion, the most time-consuming and physically demanding part of the process.

Once the braid is complete, the stylist removes the device, seals the ends, trims the hair and styles it according to the client's preferences.

In other words, the creativity, precision and personal interaction remain entirely human.

The robot simply takes over the repetitive work.

According to the company, HaloBraid has already completed thousands of braids and full braided hairstyles. 

Using machine learning, it is designed to match professional-quality braids while completing the repetitive weaving process up to five times faster. 

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Any discussion about artificial intelligence and robotics inevitably raises concerns about jobs. HaloBraid's approach is deliberately different.

"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."

Rather than replacing skilled professionals, the company believes the technology allows them to spend more time on the artistic and customer-focused aspects of their work while reducing the physical wear and tear that comes with long hours of repetitive braiding.

The business case is equally compelling.

If a stylist can complete appointments in roughly half the time, they could potentially serve more clients in a day, reduce waiting lists and increase their income, all without working significantly longer hours.

The opportunity extends far beyond one startup.

Textured hair represents a massive global market, yet many investors have historically overlooked technologies designed specifically for it.

That changed when HaloBraid pitched its vision.

Alexis Ohanian said the idea immediately resonated with him. Married to tennis legend Serena Williams and father to two daughters who wear braided hairstyles, he said he has witnessed firsthand just how long braiding appointments can take.

He also pointed out that while companies like Dyson transformed hair tools for other consumers, innovation for textured hair has remained relatively limited despite strong demand. 

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The fresh funding will help HaloBraid expand product development, manufacturing and salon partnerships ahead of its broader rollout. 

More than a robot

HaloBraid is the company's first product, but not its final ambition.

Ogunbiyi has said her broader goal is to build technologies that make textured hair care faster, easier and more enjoyable. 

The company is already exploring future devices, including one that could help remove braids, a process that can take almost as long as installing them. 

For her, the mission goes beyond automation. It's about giving people their time back.

In a recent LinkedIn post reflecting on HaloBraid's journey, Ogunbiyi wrote that countless dinners, birthdays, holidays, meetings and special moments had been delayed or missed because of marathon braiding sessions.

"Time is precious," she wrote. "Halo gives that time back." 

After thousands of years of doing braids the same way, HaloBraid suggests the next chapter of hair braiding may not be about replacing the human touch at all.

Instead, it could be about preserving the artistry of braiding while freeing both clients and stylists from the repetitive work that has long defined it.