Biomechanical Engineer Yinka Ogunbiyi Raises $7M Seed Round For Patent-Pending Braid Assist Device For Professional Stylists – AfroTech
Yinka Ogunbiyi has secured funding for her device, which is poised to transform the professional hair-braiding industry.
HaloBraid
In 2025, Ogunbiyi, a biomedical engineer with a bachelor’s, master’s, and an MBA from Harvard University, took the internet by storm with the braiding device, HaloBraid.
The device can reduce braiding time by half, according to the company’s website. Increased efficiency also helps reduce physical strain and increase revenue for hair stylists by expanding their capacity for appointments. Collectively, hair stylists spend an estimated 8 billion hours braiding hair each year, with appointments typically lasting four to 12 hours, according to a press release shared with AFROTECH™.
The device, co-invented with David Afolabi, also a Harvard alumni, was inspired by Ogunbiyi’s own experience of both getting her hair braided and braiding it herself. According to an Instagram post, during the COVID-19 pandemic, she spent four days braiding her hair and experienced firsthand how physically demanding the process can be.
This inspired the launch of her tech company, Halo, and HaloBraid serves as its inaugural product. The patent-pending tech will allow stylists to complete braids five times faster while honoring the braid style, according to the press release.
“Braiding is more popular than ever, but the way we braid hasn’t changed in thousands of years. It’s still time-consuming and painful for stylists and clients alike,” said Ogunbiyi in the release. “Our technology transforms braiding by speeding up the most repetitive part of the process. We designed this with stylists, using their perspective to build a product that supports them, without replacing them. We’re excited to help stylists and clients reclaim their time in and behind the chair.”
HaloBraid will officially launch later in 2026, per the press release. This is supported by Halo’s $7 million seed round led by Alexis Ohanian’s venture capital firm Seven Seven Six. AlleyCorp and Bling Capital also participated in the round.
The funding will also support salon partnerships, stylist testing, and device preparation for manufacturing. The goal is for HaloBraid to be available worldwide, per the release.
“Innovation in this category is long overdue,” said Ogunbiyi. “HaloBraid is our first product, but our larger vision is to create category-defining technology that makes textured hair care faster, easier, more comfortable, and more joyful.”
