Chanel and Olaplex invest in beauty start-up Arcaea

Beauty start-up Arcaea has raised $78 million in Series A funding from a number of investors including beauty company Olaplex and luxury brand Chanel.

Arcaea was founded by the MIT graduate Jasmina Aganovic, who is also its CEO. The brand will culture its own safe and sustainable ingredients by leveraging technology such as DNA sequencing, biological engineering, and fermentation. It's goal is to create a new supply chain for the industry that does not rely on petrochemicals or on harvesting and depleting natural resources.

The brand's initial products will concentrate on hair and scalp care, but it is set to expand into skincare, bodycare and aesthetics. It will sell its products across the professional, specialty retail and direct-to-consumer channels.

The funding, which Cascade Investment L.L.C., Viking Global, Givaudan and Wittington Ventures also participated in, will enable Arcaea to initiate multiple technical programs across key categories in beauty to develop a pipeline of ingredients and brand launches.

Aganovic said: "We are thrilled to have OLAPLEX as a strategic partner and investor as we grow Arcaea. Their insight and expertise in hair care, as well as a shared desire to see new advances to improve consumer health in an industry ripe for innovation, is reflective of the shared future we want to see; and makes them an ideal partner."

JuE Wong, OLAPLEX president and chief executive officer said: "Innovation is a part of our OLAPLEX brand DNA and we are committed to providing cutting edge technology that will help to solve real consumer problems."