Sciapps Ltd, the UK company behind skincare app SkinNinja, raised $1 million (£750K) in seed funding, bringing the company’s valuation to $4.5 million. The round was led by Voulez Capital, the United Kingdom’s first women-run, female-focused VC.
WHO: Founded by Jo Osborne, SkinNinja is a free smartphone app that identifies potentially harmful ingredients in cosmetics and skincare products. SkinNinja matches expert evidence to over 200K ingredients, across 850K products, creating a comprehensive database that empowers consumers to shop skincare smarter. Osborne hopes her app SkinNinja will help consumers gain transparency on what’s in their skincare.
WHY: The Sciapps team will use the investment to develop its proprietary technology, make strategic hires, and expand their B2B business.
IN THEIR OWN WORDS: “The whole premise is to democratize this data,” Osborne told Forbes. “We don’t want to make enemies in the industry, we want to partner with people so that we can make sure together we can help retailers attract the right audience.” Osborne predicts the future could even be one where you opt in or out of ingredients when you shop for products online.
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