Maxwell Opondo

Maxwell Opondo is the founder and chief executive of ZeroBionic, a Nairobi robotics startup on a mission to open science and technology classrooms to deaf students. Connected to Strathmore University, where he is completing his undergraduate studies, he started building as a student innovator and is an alumnus of the Young Scientists Kenya programme.

ZeroBionic's robots are 3D printed, partly from recycled plastic waste, and rely on machine learning and computer vision to convert a spoken lesson into sign language and back again in real time. The goal is practical: give a deaf learner an interpreter in the room when a qualified human one is not available. The company has run pilots in schools in Machakos, Garissa and Kirinyaga counties and reports translation accuracy of about 92 percent. The technology has since been featured by international outlets including Reuters and AFP.

Recognition has followed steadily. In 2024 the project took a Gold award at the Reimagine Education Awards, and in 2025 the Africa Tech Summit named him its Young Tech Innovator. In 2026 ZeroBionic was one of ten startups chosen from more than 1,200 applicants in over 45 countries for Qualcomm's Make in Africa mentorship programme, and the only Kenyan company in that cohort. He leads the venture alongside co-founder Norah Kimathi, with a shared ambition of putting assistive robots in every classroom that needs one.