Ulta Beauty, a leading beauty retailer in the US, and Haut.AI, a world-class research and development company specialising in next-generation artificial intelligence for skincare and longevity, are pleased to announce that they have entered into a strategic and commercial partnership. This union of Ulta Beauty’s extensive consumer and product knowledge with Haut.AI’s strategy-led technology and next- generation, AI-powered beauty and skincare tools is set to change how and why consumers experience and purchase skincare and beauty products.
With technology playing an increasingly crucial role in every industry, beauty and skincare companies have begun to recognise that the growing demand for inclusive, hyper-personalised skincare solutions is one that must be embraced in order to remain competitive in the digital landscape. This strategic partnership developed from a shared vision of using cutting-edge AI technology and vast consumer and product data to create innovative digital skincare tools that will shape the beauty and skincare industry for years to come. Drawing on Haut.AI’s extensive expertise in the development and application of next- generation technologies for skincare, beauty and longevity and combining it with Ulta’s wealth of customer and product data allows both companies to address and meet the ever-evolving needs of this billion-dollar market.
Together, Ulta Beauty and Haut.AI will improve existing skin analysis technology with enriched customer and product data, develop innovative skin algorithms and simulations, and create personalised, inclusive product recommendations that significantly enhance the customer experience. Both companies bring highly experienced technical and product teams to the table and have a shared vision of helping beauty enthusiasts to achieve their short- and long-term skincare, beauty and longevity goals through a disruptive, exciting, hyper-personalised AI engine.
Ulta Beauty, a US beauty retail giant, provides unmatched breadth, value and convenience to customers, offering approximately 25,000 products via its brick-and-mortar stores, eCommerce stores and mobile applications. Our teams are laser focused on imagining – and reimagining – the most engaging guest experiences across every Ulta Beauty touchpoint,” said Prama Bhatt, chief digital officer, Ulta Beauty. “As industry leaders, we are thrilled to bring forward innovative solutions that serve our guests and cannot wait to see how our partnership with Haut.AI will deliver for guests as we marry our passions for personalisation, data-driven technology and beautiful possibilities.
Founded in Estonia in 2018, Haut.AI’s industry-leading, science-backed, AI-powered skincare tools and algorithms have supported the R&D work of major global skincare brands and manufacturers, including in new product development, testing and collection of claims, and conducting consumer studies.
“An AI-based system that can identify skin issues is not a novelty in today’s skincare market. We recognise the next big step is how consumers experience these systems. Our solution is the most accurate on the market, and with Ulta Beauty, we will create an AI engine that addresses consumer skin needs early to prevent deterioration of the skin—all while tailoring product recommendations to individual preferences, spanning texture, smell, brand values and preferred ways to shop. Because who said science-backed, AI-powered skincare can’t be fun?” said Anastasia Georgievskaya, CEO of Haut.AI. Haut.AI’s inclusive skin scan technology is an important element of the partnership. Rigorously tested and validated on a curated image dataset, it will be heavily utilised in the development of new tools and capabilities. In turn, Ulta Beauty will enrich Haut.AI’s recommendation engine with rich data on consumer engagement and product preferences, creating an invaluable next-generation omnichannel shopping experience that meets the changing needs of beauty enthusiasts and skincare product consumers.
About Haut.AI
Haut.AI is an industry-leading global artificial intelligence company that specialises in skincare and longevity. By combining advanced deep learning techniques for machine vision, deep generative models for synthetic data generation, and reinforcement learning with expert human dermatologists, nutritionists, and biogerontologists, the company develops advanced, hyper-personalised recommendation engines for the beauty, skincare, and longevity markets.
Headquartered in Estonia, the digital hub of the European Union, Haut.AI prides itself on supporting diversity and inclusion by developing AI that is effective across a range of different skin types and skin colours, in addition to developing novel techniques for identifying bias. The company’s SaaS solution currently serves global skincare brands, retailers and contract research organisations in 27 different markets.
