Admin l Monday, September 09, 2019
LAGOS, Nigeria – Nigeria’s Robotic Engineer, Silas Adekunle(27) has shut down Reach Robotic, the engineering company he-cofounded at Bristol Robotics Laboratory. He was CEO of the company. He is said to have shut down the company to enable him pursue other interest.
Silas Adekunle is reported as the highest paid robotic engineer in the world. Reach Robotics raised a total of $7.8 million, according to Crunchbase.
It launched its MekaMon gaming robots in late 2016 that combine augmented reality (AR) and a four-legged toy robot, with Apple reaching a deal to sell the robot in all Apple stores in the UK and United States.
MekaMon, his flagship product is reported to have sold over 500 bots. Version 2 of MekaMon was launched 10 months ago.
Adekunle disclosed his decision to shutdown the company on Linkedin.
“Unfortunately, for Reach Robotics, in its current form at least, today marks the end of that journey.
“I am immensely proud of what we have achieved. Since founding Reach Robotics at the Bristol Robotics Laboratory, we made huge strides in our technology both in terms of our hardware and app development.
“We took MekaMon from prototype to market, introduce the world to the first gaming robot with seamless AR integration, launched in dozens of territories and developed a unique education offering that will live on through many initiatives.
“This simply could not have happened without the highly skilled and creative people that have been part of the Reach Robotics journey. I speak for myself and my fellow co-founders Chris Beck and John Rees when I say it has been a privilege and we have no doubt that they will continue to innovate and enrich the sector. Personally, I am grateful for the experience, lessons learnt, the connections and the opportunity to inspire young people from under-represented backgrounds in STEM and entrepreneurship.
“I am thankful to everyone who has been a part of this journey, from my co-founders Chris and John, who have been there through thick and thin, to members of the management team who were supportive in the most difficult of times, Jonathan Quinn, Kathryn Green, Philip Green just to name a few.
“Thank you to all of our investors, advisers, mentors, family and friends over the years. Special thanks to UWE, Bristol Robotics Laboratory, Pervasive Media Studio, SetSquared and so many others who have supported our growth. Reach Robotics began with the vision of creating advanced and accessible robotics to entertain, inspire and educate. I hope to carry that vision forward into the future.
“Following some travel and much needed rest, the journey will continue in the Non consumer Robotics sector and the STEAM Education sector”, he said.
Silas Adekunle finished with first class honours in Robotics at the University of West England, Bristol.
