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L'Oréal Groupe and the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) signed an open innovation agreement to launch L'Oréal Group's "Big Bang" program in Korea, to discover, support, and nurture promising SMEs and startups.
The MOU for open innovation was signed at the L'Oréal booth at Viva Technology 2023, Europe's startup and tech event held in Paris, on June 15. L'Oréal Groupe's Deputy CEO in charge of Research, Innovation & Technology, Barbara Lavernos and Minister Young LEE participated.
Through this MOU, L'Oréal and MSS will discover and support promising SMEs and startups in Korea with innovative digital and beauty tech technologies that can be scaled globally. In particular, the program will focus on beauty devices, beauty tech, skin diagnosis and delivery systems, enabled by digital and AI technologies.
Barbara LAVERNOS, Deputy CEO of L'Oréal Groupe in charge of Research, Innovation and Technology, said: "At L'Oréal, we embrace and nurture innovation, and believe in open innovation through partnerships. Therefore, we work with innovative start-ups, small and medium businesses, institutions and governments to inspire and be inspired. The signing of MOU today with Korean MSS is a significant milestone for L'Oréal's journey in leading open innovation in North Asia. We are excited to collaborate with startups from China, Korea, and Japan through the Big Bang Program, and to scale up creativity and innovation from North Asia globally."
Young Lee, Minister of SMEs and Startups, said, "Supporting promising Korean SMEs and startups to play an active role in the global market is a big mission for us at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups. In this sense, collaboration with the global beauty leader L'Oréal Group is very meaningful. The ministry will continue to support Korean companies with innovative technologies to collaborate with global companies to strengthen their market competitiveness and expand into the global market."
Globally, L'Oréal Groupe operates 20 research centers in 11 countries and has more than 4,000 R&I employees. The Groupe is focused on working closely with partners through open innovation, breaking down boundaries and exchange ideas to help shape the future of beauty. L'Oréal Groupe's "Big Bang" program is a startup incubation program launched in North Asia, which has been running in China since 2020 and will be rolled out in Korea and Japan starting this year.