LVMH in talks with Korea’s lululab for AI skin analysis solution business

LVMH Chairman Bernard Arnault and Choi Yong-joon, chief executive officer of lululab Inc. at LVMH’s internal event held in Cheongdam-dong, southern Seoul in March. [Photo provided by lululab]

LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE (LVMH), the world’s largest luxury group, is set to join hands with a promising beauty technology startup that spun off from an in-house venture at South Korea’s Samsung Electronics Co. to promote cosmetics business.

LVMH is known to be actively considering introducing the analysis solutions of the startup, lululab Inc., to its brands starting with Sephora, a multinational beauty retailer.

LVMH and lululab are discussing the possibility of installing lululab’s AI skin analysis solution on kiosks at Sephora’s global offline stores and using lululab’s software development kit (SDK) for each cosmetic brand application, according to sources. There are more than 3,000 Sephora stores in 36 countries.

Lululab was founded in May 2017 by Choi Yong-joon, its chief executive officer, who joined Samsung Electronics and proposed a project that involves skin data-based AI beauty, diagnosis, and prediction business as an in-house venture.

After spinning off from Samsung Electronics, lululab won the Innovation Award for four consecutive years from 2019 at the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) held in Las Vegas, U.S. Last year, it successfully attracted 20 billion won ($15.12 million) in Series C funding.

Lululab has more than 2 million skin data from across the world, which is more than 10 times the size of its multinational competitors listed on U.S. Nasdaq.

Insiders note that the company has improved its technology to allow accurate analyses of skin conditions by simply using the smartphone without the need of a separate device from 2021.

Choi Yong-joon gives a presentation on his company in front of Bernard Arnault at LVMH’s internal event held in Cheongdam-dong, southern Seoul in March. [Photo provided by lululab]

“We plan to release our own app using AI to analyze skin conditions targeting consumers from teens to 30s this year,” said an unnamed official from lululab. “We will also release an AI solution for men’s scalp care this year in three countries.”

LVMH contacted lululab in 2019. In May of that year, Choi announced the company’s technology and vision after being named a finalist at Viva Technology, the world’s largest technology event for startups, in Paris. LVMH officials also attended, including LVMH Chairman Bernard Arnault, his second son Alexandre Arnault, and the head of LVMH Asia Pacific.

LVMH headquarters had been observing lululab for several years.

“We participated in LVMH’s internal event held in Cheongdam-dong, southern Seoul in March,” said an unnamed official from lululab. “We introduced our improved technology and the status and vision of our business before the key executives of LVMH.”

Lululab’s AI skin diagnosis solution is not limited to the beauty sector. In addition to skin disease diagnosis and prediction, early diagnosis of senile diseases such as dementia and Parkinson’s disease is also a possibility as the company’s AI can track even the subtle changes in muscles through facial images.

Lululab is developing a solution based on the convergence of skin data and chronic disease index data to grow into a global healthcare company. It is also engaged in the joint development of AI solutions for 15 skin diseases in collaboration with leading university hospitals in Korea.