Halo secures USD 7M to launch braid-assisting device 

USA – Halo, a Cambridge, Mass.–based hair-tech startup, has secured USD 7 million in seed funding to bring to market HaloBraid, billed as the first braid‑assist device designed for professional stylists working with textured hair. 

The patent‑pending hardware is engineered to help stylists finish braids up to five times faster while preserving their hand‑started style and reducing physical strain.

Braiding remains one of the most time‑intensive beauty services globally, with an estimated 8 billion hours spent on braiding each year and single appointments often running six hours or longer. 

This manual, repetitive work contributes to chronic issues for stylists, including carpal tunnel syndrome and early‑onset arthritis, while clients frequently sacrifice weekends or vacation days for a style that typically lasts 6–8 weeks.

HaloBraid addresses both sides of that equation. Stylists begin each braid by hand to set the desired look, then use the device to finish the rest of the braid faster and more consistently, matching the stylist’s technique. 

In company research of 2,000 braid wearers, 95% said they would braid more often if the process were faster, underscoring latent demand that stylists struggle to meet due to time and physical constraints.

The seed round was led by Seven Seven Six (776), the venture firm founded by Alexis Ohanian, with participation from AlleyCorp and Bling Capital. 

According to Halo, the capital will be used to advance product development, expand stylist testing, prepare for manufacturing, and build salon partnerships ahead of a commercial launch later this year.

Ohanian framed braiding as a longstanding, largely unoptimized process within the USD 270 billion salon services industry, noting that Halo’s approach introduces novel technology into a highly specialized, manual professional service.

Halo was founded by Yinka Ogunbiyi, a biomechanical engineer and repeat hardware founder whose inspiration came from her own experience spending four days braiding her hair during the pandemic. 

Before Halo, she co‑founded Desora, where she co‑invented six patented smart cooking devices and brought advanced consumer hardware to market; she holds a BSc, MS, and MBA from Harvard.

While HaloBraid is the company’s first product, Halo’s stated roadmap includes a broader portfolio of technologies aimed at unmet needs for people with textured hair worldwide, with a focus on making care faster, easier, more comfortable, and more enjoyable. 

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