In a beauty market saturated with thousands of choices and overwhelming online searches, Mumbai-based Orbo AI is tackling a core challenge: consumer confusion.
Selected for the Google for Startups Accelerator: AI First programme, the startup aspires to become India’s “beauty operating system”. It uses AI and computer vision to simplify the process of discovering and purchasing beauty products.
Reinventing Online and Offline Retail
Founder Manoj Shinde, drawing from his retail experience, believes shopping should be more experiential and data-driven. Traditional models, he says, fail to meet the expectations of modern consumers who seek autonomy and personalisation. Orbo’s technology reshapes both in-store and digital experiences to make them intuitive and tailored to individual needs.
Moreover, the results speak for themselves. Orbo’s clients have seen measurable impact, including a 2.5x increase in average order value, 12% fewer returns and a 40% drop in acquisition costs, all alongside improved engagement and retention.
While 80% of India’s beauty market remains offline, in-store experiences often lack authenticity. Shinde noted that sales staff typically push products rather than providing genuine guidance—something that puts off younger shoppers, particularly Gen Z, who often prefer self-directed discovery.
To bridge this gap, Orbo created the Magic Mirror, an AI-powered device that provides real-time skin and hair analysis. Shoppers can virtually try on products and receive unbiased recommendations, removing the need for sales intervention. The Magic Mirror makes physical retail more relevant and engaging while helping brands connect with a broader audience.
Online retail, however, presents a different challenge. With countless indie brands and overlapping stock-keeping units (SKUs), traditional keyword-based searches have become less effective. “In the age of conversational AI, people are looking for answers, not keywords,” Shinde said. This shift increases discovery costs and limits visibility for D2C brands.
Orbo’s answer is contextual search, which interprets natural, conversational queries and returns a handful of precise, relevant results instead of overwhelming users with hundreds of irrelevant options. It is powered by the company’s proprietary ‘Beauty GPT’, described as the world’s first ‘text-to-experience’ model. By uploading a selfie, users receive personalised recommendations and simulated makeup looks matched to their skin tone. This turns online shopping into an immersive and interactive experience.
Building the Technology Edge
Orbo’s strength lies in its proprietary zero-party data and technology stack. “Our moat is in our data,” Shinde explained. Over the course of three years, the company has built a dataset that captures 162 facial parameters, including tone, pigmentation and texture, which users have shared voluntarily. The goal is to create a one-trillion-parameter repository, currently at 800 million, providing brands with insights for hyper-personalised products and marketing strategies.
Another key pillar of the company’s technology is edge computing, which processes AI models directly on local devices such as browsers or Magic Mirrors, without the need for constant internet access. This approach reduces latency to as low as 35 milliseconds, a crucial factor for delivering real-time visual experiences. Moreover, the approach ensures consistent performance in Tier 2 and 3 cities with limited connectivity.
While Orbo uses large models like Google’s Gemini for conversational tasks, it relies on convolutional neural networks (CNNs) for precision tasks, like skin analysis.
These CNNs are a core component of the company’s augmented reality (AR) capabilities. The CNNs are trained to analyse a user’s live video feed, performing real-time facial tracking and segmentation. This allows Orbo’s AR software to accurately overlay virtual makeup, hair colours and other products onto the user’s face, ensuring that the virtual try-on experience is both realistic and instantaneous.
This hybrid setup ensures speed, accuracy and adaptability that Orbo’s technology demands.
Business Model and funding
Orbo operates on an enterprise SaaS model with tiered pricing designed for D2C brands, e-commerce platforms and retailers. Fees are based on factors such as module access, usage, SKUs and customisation. For retail, Orbo offers flexible pricing options, including subscription or CAPEX models for its Magic Mirror, and outcome-based pricing for Contextual Search—tying costs directly to conversion performance. This flexibility allows brands of all sizes to offer personalised AI experiences.
The startup has raised $2.77 million so far and is seeking $5.5 million in pre-Series A funding to scale toward a $25–30 million ARR within the next three years.
A ‘Beauty Operating System’ for the Entire Ecosystem
Orbo isn’t positioning itself as just another SaaS provider. Shinde argues that traditional SaaS is losing relevance as generative AI can quickly replicate most functions. Instead, Orbo is developing an API-driven technology layer that integrates directly into brand and retail ecosystems across websites, apps and stores.
For instance, its browser-based virtual try-on runs entirely through edge computing, providing instant interaction without dependence on the cloud. APIs allow seamless integration of Orbo’s modules—skin diagnostics, product simulation, contextual search—creating a consistent omnichannel journey that connects online and offline experiences.
This architecture benefits both sides: brands gain access to zero-party data and deeper consumer insights, while shoppers receive relevant and transparent recommendations. Orbo becomes an enabling infrastructure rather than just a service—what Shinde calls a “hygiene technology” essential for the modern beauty ecosystem.
Ultimately, the company aspires to own the journey “from consumer to serum”, embedding its AI across every step of product discovery and purchase. By aligning personalisation, data and experience, Orbo AI is positioning itself as the invisible technology guiding how beauty will be bought and experienced in the future.
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