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Sharrp Ventures, SenseAI and existing investors also participated in the round

The skincare startup uses its technology to analyse users skin conditions and recommends a personalised treatment kit and care plan

The D2C beauty market is witnessing a major surge and is poised to grow to $5 Bn by 2025 at a CAGR of 9.3%, as per an Inc42 report

Bengaluru-based CureSkin, an AI-driven beauty and personal care startup, has raised $5 Mn in a Series A round led by JSW Ventures.

The fund secured would be used to grow its overall customer base, expand into adjacent categories, and make further investments in technology. 

Founded in 2017 by Guna Kakulapati, Ramakrishna Rajanna and Charu Sharma, CureSkin app enables users to take photos and instantly get artificial analysis (AI) for acne, dark spots, pigmentation, wrinkles among others for free.

Once the analysis is done, it prepares a personalised safe and effective treatment that can be purchased through in-app transactions. The plan includes free diet and lifestyle guidance. For users with good skin, the app suggests a dermatologist designed plan to maintain healthy skin and hair, as claimed by CureSkin.

“Its technology is built using a database of millions of images that detect skin conditions with accuracy across different skin types,” it said. The skincare startup has served users in remote regions across India. It also helps users maintain their skin through a strong outcome-oriented approach.

“There is a large market need for outcome-oriented, specialist care for skin and hair conditions. We believe our data and technology-based approach to develop superior products and provide personalised advice will solve this problem and cater to every Indian’s skin, hair, and personal care needs,” said Guna Kakulapati, cofounder, and CEO, CureSkin.

Commenting on the investment, Sachin Tagra, partner at JSW Ventures said, “CureSkin is a category creator in the technology led beauty and personal care industry. The capital will help the company to continue scaling its operations, innovate on new products and build a strong technology solution that will allow the brand to become a category leader.”

CureSkin has more than 10 dermatologists and over 25 skin advisors onboard. “So far it has treated over 2 lakh customers and helped them achieve a healthier looking skin,” as per its website.

JSW Ventures is an early-stage institutional venture capital fund investing in tech companies across B2B and B2C platforms in consumer, healthcare, financial services, education, and agriculture industries.

Meanwhile, the beauty and personal care segment in the county has been getting a lot of attention from investors in the past few months. For example, startups such as Sugar Cosmetics, Purplle, Good Glamm Group, among others have been in the news for the same.

In January 2022, content-to-commerce unicorn, Good Glamm Group, picked up a majority stake in beauty and personal care startup, Organic Harvest.

Further, ecommerce marketplace for beauty products Purplle acquired cosmetics and skincare brand FACES CANADA last year in December. The brand has joined Purplle’s cohort of owned and acquired beauty brands, including Good Vibes, Carmesi, and NYBae.

Last year, Mumbai-based D2C brand SUGAR Cosmetics had raised about $21 Mn in its Series C funding round led by Elevation Capital, which has reportedly doubled its valuation to over $100 Mn. 

Moreover, an Inc42 report estimates that India’s beauty and personal care market is growing at a CAGR of 12.5% and is projected to reach $37.2 Bn by 2025.