PARIS – Yuv, a London-based beauty tech company offering a smart, sustainable hair color lab system for salons and freelancers, has closed a $12 million Series A funding round.
It was led by Sweden’s Nineyards Equity, specialized on companies delivering financial returns and positive ESGL impact, with strong participation of Yuv’s founder Franciso Gimenez, existing investor VNV Global and strategic angels.
The newly raised funds are to be used to accelerate Yuv’s growth in the United Kingdom and support its expansion in the United States next year.
Yuv Beauty developed Yuv Lab, which is app-connected. The system allows for the replacement of single-use tubes with refillable aluminum cartridges. Alongside reducing waste, Yuv Lab offers – with a touch of a button – millions of customized formulations.
From quarter shades to the addition of tertiary tones, pH control and translucency-opacity levels, the system employs advanced technology to create the desired blends of hues and tones.
It uses patented hardware, AI-backed software and Swiss formulas. Yuv is billed to cut costs, streamline operations and enhance creativity.
The pay-as-you-dispense model means that salons and freelancers are only charged for what they use.
Yuv cartridges
Courtesy of Yuv
“At Nineyards, we back category-defining companies with the potential to fundamentally reshape their industries,” Eric Sävendahl, principle at Nineyards Equity, said in a statement released Friday. “Yuv is bringing true digital transformation to professional hair color by combining hardware, color and software into a platform that solves real pain points for salons and freelancing hairdressers alike. We are highly impressed by what Francisco and the team have accomplished so far, and are excited to support them as they scale in the U.K., U.S. and beyond.”
“This raise represents a pivotal moment for Yuv,” said Gimenez, founder and chief executive officer of the company. “With the support of Nineyards Equity, VNV Global and our investor network, we are doubling down on our mission to transform professional hair color through sustainability, design and technology. Our next chapter will bring Yuv’s platform to more salons and freelancers across the U.K., and soon to the U.S., where we see massive potential.”
The global salon hair services market is expected to register steady growth, from $203.78 billion in 2025 to $341.67 billion by 2032, according to Yuv, citing Fortune Business Insights.
Yuv has been in the sights of investors. In October, it appeared on BBC One’s “Dragon’s Den” – where entrepreneurs pitch their companies, à la “Shark Tank” – and set a record for the amount of financing it scored, 500,000 pounds at 2 percent equity from Steven Bartlett and Sara Davies, and its valuation of 25 million pounds.
Carisa Janes, founder and CEO of Hourglass, was among Yuv’s main initial investors.
In 2024, Yuv was chosen to join TechCrunch Disrupt’s Startup Battlefield 200 and won a Red Dot Design award.
Gimenez launched Yuv after selling custom hair color business ESalon – for which he had been cofounder and CEO – to German personal care giant Henkel in 2019. In fiscal 2018, ESalon generated about $30 million in sales.
ESalon, a bespoke direct-to-consumer subscription service for at-home color based in Los Angeles, was one of the first to enter the custom hair-color space, launching formulations in 2010.
