A 34-year-old Nigerian man named Silas Adekunle has made history as the highest-paid robotics engineer in the world.
Robotics engineering is the design, development, and operation of robots. It’s a multidisciplinary field that combines mechanical, electrical, computer, and software engineering.
His feat was made possible after he made a groundbreaking deal with Apple Inc., one of the world’s most prestigious software manufacturers.
Born in Nigeria, Silas moved to the United Kingdom at the age of 12. He pursued his passion for technology, earning a first-class degree in Robotics and later receiving an honorary Doctor of Technology degree from the University of the West of England, Bristol.
After graduating, Silas co-founded and led Reach Robotics, a UK-based company that merged augmented reality gaming with STEM education.
The company’s flagship creation, MekaMon, was a lifelike, four-legged robot that brought video games to life through robotics and augmented reality.
Silas successfully raised $12 million in investments, growing Reach Robotics to 65 employees at its peak.
In 2018, he secured a major deal with Apple to sell MekaMon in the U.S. and UK, earning him the title of one of the highest-paid engineers in robotics, recognized for creating the world’s first gaming robot.
However, despite its success, Reach Robotics faced challenges in the consumer robotics industry and eventually shut down in September 2019. The brand name was later revived in 2022 by Blueprint Lab.
Not giving up, Silas shifted his focus to robotics education across Africa, using MekaMon to inspire young innovators. He also founded Awarri, a company dedicated to advancing AI and robotics technology on the continent.
By January 2020, he became the co-founder and CEO of R.I., a company helping developers build cloud solutions for remotely managing robots, industrial systems, and IoT devices.
Silas’s contributions to robotics have earned him international recognition. In 2018, he was named among the Financial Times’ “Top 100 Minority Ethnic Leaders in Technology” and featured on Forbes’ 30 Under 30 Europe: Technology list.
