Osh Agabi's Koniku Develops Smell-Detecting Technology

Oshiorenoya “Osh” Agabi is the founder and CEO of Koniku, a biotechnology company based in California. Raised in Lawanson, Lagos, Agabi studied physics at the University of Lagos and furthered his education and research in Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.

His work spans robotics, neuroscience, and bioengineering, with a focus on integrating biology and computers. At Koniku, Agabi and his team have created technology that merges engineered biological cells with electronics to detect and identify airborne chemicals, effectively giving machines a sense of smell.

The most notable system developed by Koniku is called Konikore, which converts chemical detection into digital data. This technology has significant potential applications, particularly in security, as it could help identify explosives and hazardous chemicals in environments such as airports and industrial facilities.

Koniku has previously collaborated with Airbus on aviation-security applications.