L’Oréal is teaming up with IBM to harness generative AI (GenAI) technology for creating innovative and sustainable cosmetics.
This collaboration will develop a tailored AI foundation model to empower L’Oréal’s Research & Innovation (R&I) teams. The focus is on crafting eco-friendly formulations using renewable raw materials, significantly reducing energy and material waste.
As the first AI model in the cosmetics industry designed for formulation, this initiative showcases how advanced technology can drive sustainability-focused solutions.
Stéphane Ortiz, Head of Innovation Métiers & Product Development at L’Oréal R&I, stated, “Through our Digital Transformation Program, this partnership will accelerate and expand our innovation and reformulation efforts. Our products will continue to set new benchmarks for inclusivity, sustainability, and personalization.”
AI and Beauty
L’Oréal and IBM are combining expertise in cosmetic science and AI to revolutionize innovation and sustainability in the beauty industry. While AI is well-known for personalizing products, this collaboration explores its potential to create renewable, sustainably sourced formulations, advancing a broader ecological mission.
Matthieu Cassier, Chief Transformation & Digital Officer at L’Oréal R&I, highlighted, “This major alliance with IBM builds on years of beauty science expertise and data structuring, opening an exciting new era for innovation and development.”
The partnership relies on foundation models, which serve as the backbone of this initiative. These AI systems, trained on vast datasets, can transfer learnings across diverse applications. While widely recognized for transforming natural language processing (NLP), IBM has extended their use to fields like chemistry, geospatial data, and time series analysis.
L’Oréal’s custom AI model will process an extensive database of cosmetic formulas and raw materials. This capability will streamline tasks like creating new products, reformulating existing ones, and scaling production. By accelerating these processes, L’Oréal’s R&D teams can focus on delivering sustainable, high-quality solutions faster.
Harnessing Generative AI to Drive Sustainability and Innovation in Beauty
Alessandro Curioni, IBM Fellow and VP for Europe and Africa, emphasized, “This collaboration showcases the impact of generative AI, merging technology and expertise to benefit the planet. Using IBM’s latest AI, L’Oréal can extract meaningful insights from their data to achieve their goals and advance sustainability.”
The collaboration also dives deeper into understanding renewable ingredients in formulations. Guilhaume Leroy-Méline, IBM Distinguished Engineer and CTO of IBM Consulting France, stated, “This alliance combines specialized expertise in AI and cosmetics to revolutionize formulation. It represents AI-augmented research with a focus on sustainability and diversity.”
For IBM, this project reflects a broader strategy to apply AI in industries needing tailored solutions. Curioni added, “Custom AI has the power to reshape businesses on multiple levels.”
By co-developing this bespoke formulation model, IBM and L’Oréal are setting new standards for sustainable innovation in the beauty industry. This partnership could serve as a blueprint for other sectors aiming to harness AI’s potential to advance sustainability.
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