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Large companies continue to bet on AI technology to improve customer experiences in retail stores and online.

Today, makeup retail giant Ulta Beauty announced a new partnership with the Atlanta-based hair care technology company Myavana. Their Virtual Hair Analysis tool, which Ulta has already unveiled on its website, leverages Myavana's AI technology to help customers get more detailed information about their hair and what products they should use.

Myavana founder and CEO Candace Harris says this tool will help drive inclusion in the beauty industry. "We're excited to bring to market better identification and understanding of our unique hair strands and unique hair journeys while partnering with the nation's largest beauty retailer that prioritizes innovation and inclusion," Harris said in a press release.

Harris founded Myavana in 2012 to help diversify the hair care industry and make it more accessible for individuals with textured hair. To build the company's latest technology, Myavana Labs -- the research and development arm of the company -- analyzed 2 billion hair strands in the hopes of matching people with the best options for their locks out of 3,000 commercially available hair products. Harris hopes other companies will license this analysis technology and use it for product recommendations.

In addition to the Ulta partnership, the company also landed new funding from Ulta's innovation fund, Prisma Ventures, which provides early-stage startups with access to capital, and the BrainTrust Fund, a firm that invests exclusively in the beauty and wellness sector. Harris says the additional funds will go towards retail expansion and additional products distribution through Ulta's channels.

"Myavana is emerging as a leader in beauty AI because its hair strand analysis super-serves every customer in this valuable marketplace, from the shopper seeking a personalized diagnosis to retailers and stylists wanting to sell the right products to shoppers the first time," said BrainTrust Fund general partners Kendra Bracken-Ferguson and Lisa Stone in a press release. "We're looking forward to working with Candace and her team as the brand continues to accelerate."

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