Estee Lauder Companies is being sued by the beauty tech startup Nomi Beauty, claiming the cosmetics giant has effectively put it out of business by stealing technology to boost sales to jet-setting travelers in hotels.

Filed in Manhattan federal court, Nomi Beauty said Estee Lauder has been “driving literally billions in new revenue” to itself after abandoning contracts in 2018 and 2020, Reuters reports.

Nomi was intended to help Estee Lauder Companies generate more revenue from luxury hotel duty-free shops and in-room purchases and become less dependent on traditional retail stores.

The startup developed technology designed to help brands better predict consumer preferences by identifying what shoppers buy versus what they say they want. 

Nomi said that Estee Lauder allegedly starved Nomi’s hotel partners of products while launching competing programs in China, Costa Rica, Malaysia, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Nomi is seeking compensatory, punitive, and triple damages.

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