Ulta Beauty Launches Digital Innovation Fund, Prisma Ventures
August 03 2022 - 8:00AM
Business Wire
Leading retailer invests in disruptive tech
startups to unlock beautiful possibilities
Ulta Beauty, the nation’s largest beauty retailer, today
announced the official launch of Prisma Ventures, a digital
innovation fund set to invest $20 million in emerging technology
startups that seek to shape future online and in-store experiences
by unlocking new technology that fuels greater discovery,
personalization, and convenience.
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the full release here:
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Ulta Beauty's digital innovation fund
will shape the future of retail and light the way for tomorrow’s
visionaries and technology. (Photo: Ulta Beauty)
“Launching Prisma Ventures is yet another way Ulta Beauty
innovatively leads and delivers forward-thinking retail
experiences. We believe this fund presents opportunities for
creative disruptors to further propel the industry forward,” said
Prama Bhatt, chief digital officer, Ulta Beauty. “We set out to
build lasting relationships with startups, welcoming them into our
ecosystem, co-creating and experimenting in ways that tap each
other’s expertise and ultimately leverage our resources to imagine
– and reimagine – what’s next for retail and beauty.”
Established to accelerate innovation by nurturing long-term,
strategic partnerships, the fund pairs Ulta Beauty’s size and scale
with the agility and singular focus of tech startups. Beyond
capital investment, Prisma Ventures provides access to the
retailer’s deep expertise and resources. To optimize and
meaningfully deliver disruptive technologies, fund participants
will have access to Ulta Beauty’s innovation team, unparalleled
consumer insights, and in-market testing opportunities.
Since its announcement at Ulta Beauty’s 2021 investor day,
Prisma Ventures has partnered with and invested in a variety of
start-ups including Haut.ai, Adeptmind, Revea, LUUM, and ReStyle.
To date, these investments have enabled greater personalization and
diagnosis within Ulta Beauty’s digital skin and hair experiences.
The company does not intend for all investments to directly impact
its offerings but where synergies exist, the partners will
co-create to bring innovation to the market.
“Ulta Beauty’s investment was a gamechanger, providing us both
with an incredible opportunity to test, learn, deploy, and scale
our low-code AI innovation platform. Ulta Beauty leveraged our
platform to create engaging, differentiated experiences for beauty
lovers nationwide, plus it added to Iterate’s credibility,” said
Jon Nordmark, co-founder, and CEO, Iterate.ai. “The collaborative
spirit has been a constant throughout our six-year relationship
which grew from a small agreement in 2016 into an eventual
investment. Together, we’re pushing the industry forward with
incredible AI-, AR-, and IoT-related innovation.”
How it Works
Prisma Ventures partners with early-stage startups that are
primarily Series Seed and Series A technology companies within the
following innovation pillars:
- Personalized & Data Driven Technology
- AR, VR & the Metaverse
- Technology-Powered Custom Beauty Products & In-Store
Services
- Social Commerce
These pillars mirror Ulta Beauty’s digital innovation priorities
and growth mindset, accounting for the majority of Prisma Ventures
investments. The remaining investments are reserved for
opportunistic technologies beyond the company’s core digital
strategy to disrupt other facets of retail, beauty, or commerce
more broadly.
The Ulta Beauty Prisma Ventures team will evaluate applicants
based on five key metrics:
- Alignment with a Focus Area: Companies that align with
Ulta Beauty’s four primary innovation pillars
- Leadership & Cultural Compatibility: The startups’
management experience, ability to execute, and cultural fit to
enable successful collaboration
- Diligence & Risk Assessment: Successful completion
of diligence across functions such as legal, technical, and
business
- Business Plan & Scalability: Strength of value
proposition, vision, plans to reach financial goals and scale
- IP & Differentiation: Novel capabilities, patents,
and technologies
To learn more about Prisma Ventures, please visit
www.ulta.com/prisma-ventures.
About Ulta Beauty
At Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ: ULTA), the possibilities are beautiful.
Ulta Beauty is the largest U.S. beauty retailer and the premier
beauty destination for cosmetics, fragrance, skin care products,
hair care products and salon services. In 1990, the Company
reinvented the beauty retail experience by offering a new way to
shop for beauty – bringing together all things beauty, all in one
place. Today, Ulta Beauty operates more than 1,300 retail stores
across 50 states and also distributes its products through its
website, which includes a collection of tips, tutorials, and social
content. For more information, visit www.ulta.com.
Ulta Beauty was recently added to the Bloomberg Gender Equality
Index, which tracks the financial performance of public companies
committed to supporting gender equality through policy development,
representation, and transparency. More information about Ulta
Beauty’s corporate responsibility efforts can be found at
https://ulta.com/investor/esg.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220803005180/en/
Eileen Ziesemer, Vice President, Public Relations
eziesemer@ulta.com (708) 305-4479
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