Meet Silas Adekunle, world’s highest-paid robotics engineer
Photo by Parmy Olson
By Akanni Dorcas
Let’s talk about Silas Adekunle, a brilliant Nigerian inventor and entrepreneur who made waves by creating the world’s first intelligent gaming robot.
Born in Nigeria, Silas moved to the UK at 12 and went on to earn a first-class robotics degree and an honorary Doctor of Technology degree from the University of the West of England, Bristol.
Silas co-founded and led Reach Robotics, a UK-based company that combined augmented reality gaming with STEM education. The star of the company’s creation was MekaMon—a four-legged robot with lifelike movements. It wasn’t just a toy; MekaMon brought video games to life with robotics and augmented reality. Alongside the robot, Reach Robotics developed an app that controlled MekaMon and served as a gateway to even more digital fun.
Silas raised $12 million in investments, growing the company to about 65 employees at its peak. In 2018, he landed a major deal with Apple to sell MekaMon in the U.S. and UK.
Adekunle is regarded as the highest paid in the field of robotic engineering, after being credited for building the world’s first gaming robot. Adekunle was able to achieve this feat after signing a mouth-watering deal with Apple Inc.
Despite these achievements, Reach Robotics faced challenges in the consumer robotics industry and closed its doors in September 2019. Later in 2022, the name “Reach Robotics” was revived by a company called Blueprint Lab.
But Silas Adekunle didn’t stop there. He turned his focus to robotics education across Africa, using MekaMon to inspire the next generation of tech innovators. He also started Awarri, a company promoting AI and robotics technology on the continent. By January 2020, he became the co-founder and CEO of R.I., a company helping developers create cloud solutions to remotely manage robots, industrial systems, and IoT devices.
Silas’s work has earned him well-deserved global recognition. In 2018, he was named one of the Financial Times’ “Top 100 Minority Ethnic Leaders in Technology” and featured on Forbes’ 30 Under 30 Europe: Technology list.
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Bio
Silas Adekunle
Article Talk
Silas Adekunle is a Nigerian inventor and technology entrepreneur known for creating the world's first intelligent gaming robot.
Silas Adekunle
Born
Nigeria
Alma mater
University of the West of England
Known for
Co-founder and former CEO, Reach Robotics
Professional life
Adekunle co-founded and was the CEO of Reach Robotics, a UK-based augmented reality gaming company that created robots for gaming and STEM education. The startup developed a 4-legged robot with lifelike movement called MekaMon. The system animated video game by combining robotics with augmented reality. Reach Robotics also developed an app, which controlled the MekaMon and acted as a portal to digital content. Adekunle received $12 million from investors, including London Venture Partners, allowing the company to expand to about 65 full-time employees at its peak.
In 2018, Adekunle partnered with Apple, signing an exclusive distribution deal to sell his product in both the United States and Britain. Reach Robotics shut down on 2 September 2019 owing to "inherent challenges in the consumer robotics sector". Blueprint Lab, a robot manufacturing company adopts the name 'Reach Robotics' in July 2022.
Adekunle is now focused on using MekaMon to develop the Robotics education ecosystem across Africa and cloud infrastructure for industrial automation in the UK. He founded the company Awarri, which aims to enable the development and adaptation of advanced AI and robotics technology in Africa. As so January 2020, Adekunle is also the co-founder and CEO of (R.I). The company aims to help developers to quickly and securely implement the cloud infrastructure needed to remotely monitor, manage and control their robots, industrial automation and IOT devices.
Honours
In November 2018, Adekunle was named to the Financial Times' list of the "Top 100 minority ethnic leaders in technology". In the same year, he was selected for the Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe 2018: Technology list.
Education and personal life
Adekunle was born in Nigeria and moved to the UK when he was 12. He earned a first class degree in robotics and an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Technology from the University of the West of England, Bristol.
Source: Wikipedia