Four startups from Australia, India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have emerged as winners in L’Oréal’s 2025 SAPMENA Big Bang Beauty Tech Innovation Program, the largest open innovation competition of its kind in South Asia Pacific, the Middle East and North Africa. The event, which concluded with a Grand Finale in Singapore on 7 November, showcased bold, scalable ideas aimed at reshaping the beauty industry through technology and sustainability.
The winning startups—Halo AI (UAE), Heatseeker (Australia), Sravathi AI (India) and Without (India)—will now collaborate with L’Oréal through a commercial pilot with one of its 37 international brands. They will also gain potential exposure across 35 markets in the SAPMENA region and participate in a year-long mentorship with senior executives from L’Oréal and its programme partners, including Accenture, Google and Meta. Wubble AI from Singapore received a Special Mention for its innovative AI-driven music creation platform.
Driving innovation through collaboration
The competition drew applications from more than 50,000 startups across the region, including Southeast Asia, India, the Middle East, Australia and New Zealand. Over nine months, the participants refined and presented solutions in key areas such as Consumer Experience, Content and Media, New Commerce, Tech for Good, and Science for Beauty. The top ten startups were selected to pitch their ideas before a panel of judges comprising industry leaders from L’Oréal, Google, Meta and Veros Ventures.
Vismay Sharma, President of L’Oréal SAPMENA Zone, said the initiative highlighted the shift in innovation toward regions with strong market demand and dynamic consumer bases. “SAPMENA is one of the world’s most dynamic regions, with millions of young, digitally-savvy consumers fuelling the rapid rise of digital commerce and brand innovation,” he said. “By partnering with these next-gen innovators, we can accelerate the pace of beauty tech transformation and amplify the impact of new ideas across the beauty ecosystem.”
Melissa Guan, Vice President and Head of Consumer at the Singapore Economic Development Board, said Singapore’s position as a hub for both technology and beauty made it an ideal location for collaboration. “Singapore is where beauty and technology converge—where global brands like L’Oréal can tap into regional startup ecosystems to access new technologies that are shaping the future of beauty,” she said.
Recognising groundbreaking solutions
The four winning startups represent a diverse range of innovations. Halo AI from the UAE helps brands streamline influencer marketing by using AI to identify authentic creators and automate campaign processes, reducing manual effort by up to 80 per cent. Heatseeker from Australia enables businesses to conduct real-world marketing experiments with live customers, replacing traditional market research with rapid, data-driven insights.
India’s Sravathi AI applies artificial intelligence and molecular modelling to accelerate pharmaceutical research and chemical development, while Without, also from India, is tackling environmental and social challenges through material science by converting unrecyclable waste into high-quality, recyclable materials. The Singapore-based Wubble AI, which received a Special Mention, allows brands to generate royalty-free, tailored music for marketing and in-store experiences using generative AI.
Benjamin Joe, Vice President for Asia Pacific at Meta, said the collaboration reflects the growing intersection between beauty and technology. “As beauty increasingly intersects with technology through virtual try-ons, social discovery and personalised experiences—this initiative provides a powerful platform for startups to shape the future of beauty in the digital world,” he said.
Sanjay Gupta, President of Google Asia-Pacific, also commended the quality of submissions. “As a region of tech-optimists and early adopters, Asia Pacific can deliver new ideas and transformative solutions for the world. The quality of submissions highlights the strong talent in this region,” he said.
A continued commitment to innovation
L’Oréal’s commitment to fostering innovation continues to receive global recognition. In 2025, the company was named the most innovative company in Europe by Fortune magazine and was also featured in Fast Company’s Top 50 Best Workplaces for Innovators list, taking the top spot in the Beauty and Fashion category. These accolades reinforce L’Oréal’s efforts to encourage creativity and collaboration at every level of the organisation.
The Big Bang Beauty Tech Innovation Program underlines L’Oréal’s dedication to nurturing emerging technology startups and building partnerships that push the boundaries of what beauty and science can achieve across one of the world’s most dynamic regions.
