Skincare giant Beiersdorf teams up with Insilico Medicine

Skincare giant Beiersdorf is doubling down on artificial intelligence (AI).

The German-based company, which owns the brands Nivea, Eucerin and La Prairie, has partnered with the AI business Insilico Medicine -- which develops end-to-end drug discovery pipelines -- to carry out computer-simulated skin research.

The duo will explore "novel, safe bioactive ingredients," with Beiersdorf aiming to use the findings as a basis for eventual skincare product development. 

"We are delighted to now be working with Insilico Medicine as a veritable expert when it comes to artificial intelligence," said Dr. May Shana'a, Senior Corporate Vice President, Research and Development at Beiersdorf, in a statement.

"We are able to evaluate new active ingredients significantly more quickly and more efficiently by simulating biological effects in silico. This enables us to cater even better to the consumers' as yet unmet skincare needs."

Beiersdorf joins a growing list of beauty heavyweights looking to harness the power of AI, which has taken the industry by storm in recent years.

From a ‘phygital' in-store facial recognition experience unveiled by SK-II last year, to an AI-powered at-home system called ‘Perso' that L'Oréal unveiled at the CES 2020 tech event this month, the technology is being used to transform the way consumers discover, test and buy beauty products.