S.Korean gov't, L'Oréal to jointly support beauty tech startups

South Korean Ministry of SMEs and Startups has joined forces with the L'Oréal Group to provide support for beauty tech startups.

During the Viva Technology 2023 (VivaTech) event held in Paris, France, the ministry and L'Oréal signed a memorandum of understanding on Thursday to collaborate on assisting beauty tech startups.

As the world's largest cosmetics group, L'Oréal recorded approximately 54 trillion won ($42 billion) in revenue last year. The signing ceremony was attended by Minister Lee Young and Barbara Lavernos, Deputy CEO in charge of Research, Innovation and Technology.

The ministry and L'Oréal aim to identify and support domestic small businesses and startups with digitally advanced and globally scalable beauty tech capabilities. They will focus on nurturing startups in sectors such as beauty tech, devices, skin diagnostics and delivery systems that incorporate digital and AI technologies.

"L'Oréal embraces and encourages innovation, fostering open innovation through partnerships," Lavernos said. "The alliance with the South Korean ministry is a pivotal opportunity for L'Oréal to spearhead open innovation in North Asia."

Lavernos expressed enthusiasm for the Big Bang Program, L'Oréal's startup nurturing initiative that was initially launched in China in 2020, set to extend to Korea and Japan this year. The program anticipates collaborating with startups in these countries to broaden the creative and innovative scope of North Asia on an international scale.

"The collaboration with L'Oréal Group, a global beauty company, is meaningful," said Minister Lee said. "We will not spare support to enable our innovative companies to strengthen their market competitiveness and expand into the global market through collaboration with global companies."

Write to Hyung-Chang Choi at calling@hankyung.com