PeopleofSuperintelligence

Builder

Silas Adekunle

Silas Adekunle is a robotics entrepreneur whose work spans gaming robots, multilingual AI and computer vision for science. After moving from Nigeria to the UK at about 12, he studied robotics at UWE Bristol and joined Watershed’s Graduate and New Talent residency in 2013. He co-founded Awarri, which opened an AI research lab in Lagos and introduced LangEasy for local-language data collection; the company partnered with Nigeria’s federal communications ministry on N-ATLAS, an open-source multilingual model unveiled in 2025. As of October 2026, he is co-founder and CEO of Awarri and Reach Industries, where he leads Lumi, a visual AI copilot for science.

Now at
Awarri and Reach Industries
Born
1991
Badges

Years link to their sources.

Timeline

  1. By 2013

    A robotics student in Bristol

    At about 12, he moves from Nigeria to the UK. In 2013, he joins Watershed’s Graduate and New Talent residency while studying robotics at UWE Bristol and is founder of Reach Robotics.

  2. November 2016–November 2017

    MekaMon reaches Apple retail

    In November 2016, Reach Robotics opens pre-orders for MekaMon, a four-legged robot controlled through a smartphone app for augmented-reality battles. Apple begins selling it exclusively through its retail stores in November 2017.

  3. 2017–2018

    An honorary technology doctorate

    UWE Bristol awards him an honorary Doctor of Technology in 2017–2018 for his contribution to student entrepreneurship and technology development.

  4. 2019

    Founding Awarri

    He co-founds Awarri in 2019 to advance frontier technology in Africa, starting with robotics education in Nigeria.

  5. 2023

    Awarri opens an AI lab

    In 2023, Awarri opens its first AI research lab in Lagos with SAIL Innovation Lab Ikorodu and trains and hires more than 150 young tech talents.

  6. 2024–2025

    LangEasy and N-ATLAS

    In 2024, Awarri introduces LangEasy, a platform for collecting local-language data through voice and text. In 2025, Nigeria unveils N-ATLAS, an open-source multilingual language model; the project is a collaboration between FMCIDE and Awarri, which Adekunle co-founds.

  7. October 2025

    Vision systems at two firms

    In October 2025, he is CEO and co-founder of Reach Industries. He says work at Reach Industries and Awarri includes several technologies focused on vision systems.

  8. As of October 2026

    Leading Awarri and Reach Industries

    As of October 2026, he is co-founder and CEO of Awarri and Reach Industries. At Reach Industries, he leads Lumi, a visual AI copilot for science that applies computer vision and automation to scientific workflows.

Career

  1. Since 2019AwarriCo-founder, CEO
  2. NowReach IndustriesCo-founder, CEO
  3. From 2013Reach RoboticsFounder

Education

  1. University of the West of England, Bristol

From the biography.

Videos

YouTube videos in which Silas Adekunle speaks or appears, newest first. A model chose them from YouTube search results. List updated 20 October 2026.

  1. Mekamon Demo at CES 2018The TWIML AI Podcast with Sam Charrington · 15 January 2018 · 1 min

Video data from YouTube API Services. By watching you agree to the YouTube Terms of Service. How we use YouTube data.

  1. Google had the most people shaping AI every year from 2014 to 2025Our estimates of which organizations employed the most people shaping AI each year from 1955 to 2025, tracing the shift from university labs to companies.
  2. The United States employs an estimated 48% of people shaping AIWe estimate where the people shaping AI work today, how universities, companies and research institutes split across countries, and how country shares have changed since the 1960s.
  3. 43% of living people shaping AI work outside their country of birthWe estimate that 43% of living people shaping AI work outside their country of birth (520 of 1,198 people with known birth and employment countries).
  4. More people shaping AI studied at Massachusetts Institute of Technology than at any other institutionWe estimate where the people shaping AI studied and where their careers led. Massachusetts Institute of Technology leads with 467 former students, including 291 recorded doctorates.

Sources and credits

Photo: We have no published photo of Silas Adekunle yet. Send us a free-licensed photo.

  1. Africa can compete globally through frontier technology— Robotics inventor, Adekunle punchng.com. Checked 21 October 2026.
  2. Silas Adekunle | Pervasive Media Studio watershed.co.uk. Checked 21 October 2026.
  3. Reach Robotics’ MekaMon is now ready to rumble in augmented reality techcrunch.com. Checked 21 October 2026.
  4. The AR-powered fighting MekaMon robot goes on sale at Apple Stores techcrunch.com. Checked 21 October 2026.
  5. Honorary Graduates - Graduation ceremonies | UWE Bristol uwe.ac.uk. Checked 21 October 2026.
  6. Awarri | About Us awarri.com. Checked 21 October 2026.
  7. A little-known AI startup is behind Nigeria’s first government-backed LLM restofworld.org. Checked 21 October 2026.
  8. Nigeria showcases Africa’s largest multilingual AI initiative at UNGA80 businessday.ng. Checked 21 October 2026.
  9. Silas Adekunle silasadekunle.com. Checked 21 October 2026.
  10. Silas Adekunle | Global Africa Business Initiative gabi.unglobalcompact.org. Checked 21 October 2026.