26-Year-Old Nigerian Becomes Highest-Paid Robotics Engineer

The gaming industry is a multibillion-dollar industry and thanks to new innovations in other domains like computing and augmented reality, that valuation will keep going up. Silas Adekunle is one individual helping to chart a new course for the gaming industry. But unlike others, Adekunle has found a whole new way to turn robots into gaming spectacles with augmented reality.

Silas Adekunle, 26, created MekaMon, the first gaming robot in 2016, according to CPAfrica. During the launch of the new technology, the CEO of Reach Robotics sold 500 robots and earned $7.5 million.

Adekunle secured a deal with London Venture Partners for $10 million in 2017. His company also partnered with Apple for exclusive sales of MekaMon, which the global tech-retailer priced at $300, according to The Guardian. The money behind these deals makes the 26-year-old the world’s highest-paid robotics engineer.

The Nigerian-born engineer began his education in Lagos, his hometown before moving to the United Kingdom as a teenager. He attended the University of the West of England and majored in robotics. Adekunle became the leader of the university’s robotics programme. He began his company with a focus on combining robotics technology with gaming.

Through Augmented Reality technology, users can create personalized experiences with MekaMon. As a result, many of the robots have been bought for kids’ use as oppose to other robots on the market that are geared to an adult male audience.

“It’s a whole industry shift, looking for products that can entertain their kids, but also products that can teach them,” Adekunle told Forbes. He made the publication’s 30 Under 30 Europe 2018 technology list.

This past year he has already earned $10 million in additional funding.