Halo, a tech startup focused on products for textured hair, has raised $7 million in seed funding to commercialize HaloBraid, a device designed to help professional stylists complete braids faster and with less physical strain.
The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based company said Monday that the financing round was led by venture capital firm Seven Seven Six, founded by Alexis Ohanian, with participation from AlleyCorp and Bling Capital.
Halo says its patent-pending HaloBraid device can complete portions of the braiding process up to five times faster than traditional manual methods while allowing stylists to maintain control over the appearance and technique of each braid. Stylists begin the braid by hand and the device assists with the repetitive finishing work, according to the company.
The startup is targeting one of the most labor-intensive areas of the beauty industry. Hair braiding appointments frequently stretch beyond six hours, with demand for protective styles continuing to grow across consumer markets. Halo estimates that roughly 8 billion hours are spent globally on braiding each year.
For salon professionals, the repetitive nature of braiding can create long-term physical stress, including hand and wrist injuries. The company argues that reducing those pressures could allow stylists to serve more customers without increasing workloads.
“Braiding is more popular than ever but the way we braid hasn’t changed,” Chief Executive Officer Yinka Ogunbiyi said in a statement. “We designed this with stylists, using their perspective to build a product that supports them, without replacing them.”
The company cited survey data of 2,000 braid wearers showing that 95% said they would braid their hair more frequently if the process required less time.
Investors view the company as an attempt to modernize a process that has seen little technological disruption despite representing a sizable industry opportunity.
“As an investor, I look for founders that see something broken that everyone else has accepted as fixed,” Alexis Ohanian, general partner at Seven Seven Six, said in a statement. He described braiding as a large market that has remained largely unchanged for centuries.
Halo plans to use the funding to advance product development, conduct additional testing with stylists, prepare manufacturing operations, and establish salon partnerships ahead of a planned commercial launch later this year.
Founded by Ogunbiyi, a biomechanical engineer and repeat hardware entrepreneur, Halo was inspired by her personal experience with braided hairstyles and the amount of time required to create them. Before founding Halo, Ogunbiyi co-founded consumer hardware company Desora and helped develop multiple patented products.
While HaloBraid is the company’s first product, Halo said it ultimately aims to build a broader portfolio of technology focused on improving care for textured hair.
The company is entering a beauty technology sector that has historically seen relatively limited investment in tools specifically designed for textured hair, a category that industry observers say remains underserved despite substantial consumer demand.