Indian Startups Win Top Honors At L’Oréal’s Big Bang Beauty Tech Innovation Programme

Three startups from India and Singapore have emerged as winners of the L'Oréal Big Bang Beauty Tech Innovation Program for the South Asia Pacific, Middle East and North Africa (SAPMENA) region.

The three teams including Live2.ai (India), NeuralGarage (India) and Creatively Squared (Singapore), have won the opportunity to work with L’Oréal in a commercial pilot with one of the group’s 37 international brands, tap into potential exposure in 35 markets across the SAPMENA region, and embark on a year-long mentorship program with senior executives from L’Oréal and the program partners. By collaborating with strong partners, L’Oréal said that it aims to accelerate the pace and significance of beauty tech innovations for the consumers of SAPMENA.

Aseem Kaushik, Managing Director of L’Oréal India, said, "L'Oréal's commitment to innovation is further strengthened by the success of the first Big Bang Beauty Tech Innovation Program. India is a true powerhouse of entrepreneurial talent, and we're inspired by the groundbreaking ideas emerging from its startup community. We believe these winning solutions will redefine the future of beauty making it more personalized, inclusive, and sustainable for consumers in India and globally."

Live2.ai is a SaaS platform offering interactive video solutions, focusing on shoppable video technology for Connected TV (CTV) and brands’ websites and apps. However, NeuralGarage uses Generative AI to solve the problem of awkward dubbing in entertainment, with technology that syncs actors' lip movements with dubbed audio to create a natural viewing experience that preserves the cinematic feel of the original content.

Started in May 2024, the inaugural L'Oréal SAPMENA Big Bang Beauty Tech Innovation Program attracted hundreds of startups from across the SAPMENA region. These innovators participated in a highly competitive five-month competition, culminating in the Grand Finale on 23 October in Singapore.

Offering innovative solutions to key challenges with the beauty industry, these startups addressed one or more of five challenge themes: consumer experience, content, media, new commerce, and tech for good. Through their participation, startups had the opportunity to connect with commercial and digital leaders, including strategic partners and mentors who offered insights to test new ideas and potential to scale. The judging panel comprised of senior executives from L’Oréal, Accenture, Google, Meta and Veros Ventures.