HaloBraid raises $7M to automate hair braiding

On Tuesday, robotics startup HaloBraid announced it has raised $7 million in a seed funding round. The round was led by Seven Seven Six, a venture capital firm, with participation from other venture capital firms including AlleyCorp and Bling Capital. The startup plans to use the fresh funding for product development, manufacturing, and securing salon partnerships. HaloBraid aims to help salons speed up braiding with its first device, which acts as an assistant for professional stylists.

The startup is targeting a highly manual and time-consuming market. According to founder Yinka Ogunbiyi, people spend an estimated 8 billion hours braiding hair each year. In a survey of 2,000 people, Ogunbiyi found that 95% of respondents would get their hair braided more often if the process took less time. Currently, individuals can spend up to 12 hours in salon chairs for a single session. Beyond the time commitment for clients, the manual labor takes a physical toll on professionals; stylists can face health issues like carpal tunnel or arthritis.

Ogunbiyi, who leads a team of around 15 employees, conceived the idea after spending four days attempting to braid her own hair while isolated in her London apartment during the COVID-19 pandemic. She describes hair as one of the trickiest substrates in the world to manipulate, requiring the company to borrow methods from material science and inkjet printing. The device is designed to assist with knotless and box braids. A stylist initiates the braid and then hands the process over to the HaloBraid device, which finishes the rest of the braid.

Alexis Ohanian, the founder of Seven Seven Six, backed the company after observing the lengthy braiding process with his own family. Ohanian compared the opportunity to his firm’s investments in other hardware sectors, such as Stoke and AstroForge, which are both portfolio companies of Seven Seven Six. “An automated braider feels eminently buildable. This product is genuinely differentiated, with a clear go-to-market,” said Ohanian, who is a Reddit co-founder and venture capitalist. While the device is the startup’s first product, Ogunbiyi stated that the company’s broader vision is to develop technology that makes textured haircare faster, easier, and more comfortable.

Why it matters

HaloBraid is targeting the massive, time-intensive market of hair braiding, which consumes an estimated 8 billion hours annually, by introducing robotics to assist professional stylists.