Powering the future of retail: Three AI startups to watch at NRF 2026

The global retail industry has a longtime presence in the Bay Area. Clothing retailer Levi Strauss & Co., top beauty product seller Sephora, and leading grocery technology company Instacart are among companies with corporate headquarters in the region.

The Bay Area also is well-known as a center of technology innovation, from cloud computing and AI to mobile commerce and sustainability. Many of the ideas that now define modern retail were born—or scaled—here.

It’s no surprise that Bay Area companies such as Sephora and Instacart will be well represented in New York City on January 11 to 13 for NRF 2026, the retail industry’s premier event organized by the National Retail Federation.

“This is where the world’s largest retailers, brands, and technology leaders converge to share ideas, explore challenges, and witness the next wave of disruption shaping the future of commerce,” said ShiSh Shridhar, Microsoft’s global director, retail and consumer packaged goods startups at Microsoft for Startups. “It’s not just an event — it’s where you feel the pulse of the industry.”

Representatives from three Pegasus Program AI startups working at the intersection of retail, data, and AI will join Shridhar on stage at NRF. Nimble, YDISTRI, and Omnistream will discuss how agentic AI solutions are reshaping decision-making across the industry, from how inventory moves to how stores adapt to local demand in real time.

AI-powered access to real-time market data

Rather than relying on centralized planning cycles, retailers are increasingly looking for systems that can adapt as conditions change, reallocating inventory, adjusting pricing, and responding to demand signals in near real time.

That’s where New York-based AI startup Nimble comes in.

“Agentic AI is shifting from delayed analysis to real-time action, allowing pricing, promo, and inventory decisions to adjust continuously as the market moves,” said Amaury Desrosiers, director of solutions consulting for Nimble.

Built for enterprises that need to ground decisions in real-world signals, Nimble’s agentic AI browsers connect businesses directly to live online knowledge that modern retailers require. The result is real-time intelligence that fuels pricing decisions, assortment optimization, demand forecasting, and customer sentiment analysis.

By automating how retailers access and operationalize external data, Nimble helps teams react faster to market changes—without increasing operational complexity. For customer-focused brands, that means better alignment between what shoppers want and what retailers deliver.

Turning inventory challenges into opportunities

Few challenges impact the customer experience more than empty shelves—or the wrong products in the wrong stores. Inventory imbalance remains a persistent issue for retailers, leading to lost sales, unnecessary markdowns, and excess waste.

YDISTRI, a B2B SaaS startup, tackles this problem by rethinking how inventory flows between stores. Co-founder and CPO Mario Megela said YDISTRI identifies slow-moving products at the store level and reallocates them to higher-demand locations.

“When volatility is the norm, speed and accuracy matter most: respond to store-level demand shifts in near real time to protect margins and boost sales,” said Megala.

This strategy helps retailers sell items at the highest price and reduces the need for markdowns while ensuring customers find the products they want. Stores feel more relevant and more responsive to local demand.

Localizing choice at scale

Retail volatility isn’t new, but the pace of change is accelerating. Across pricing, merchandising, and inventory, retailers are facing faster demand shifts, tighter margins, and less room for delayed decisions.

Omnistream addresses that challenge by delivering AI-powered category management that bridges the gap between sales strategy and in-store execution.

“The consumer, and the world, has become less certain,” says Omnistream CEO Wendy Chen. “The half-life of a good decision got shorter.”

Omnistream’s retail solutions integrate directly with existing supply chain, planning, and forecasting systems, building on current investments while providing real-time, AI-driven insights.

By integrating sales data with store attributes and real-time scenario modeling, this Sydney, Australia-based startup helps retailers design shelves that better reflect how customers shop in each location.

For retailers, this translates to boosted revenue, less waste, and better inventory management. For customers, the benefit shows up in more relevant product mixes and fewer out-of-stock items.

Glimpse the future of retail

Tune in January 9, 10 a.m. PT, for a LinkedIn Live session featuring Shish Shridhar and representatives from Nimble, YDISTRI, and Omnistream as they discuss how multi-agent AI systems are being deployed in real retail environments today. Join the conversation — register here.

At NRF 2026, catch Microsoft’s Pegasus startups live on stage at the Microsoft Booth at the Javits Center as they showcase the technologies redefining retail operations and experiences. Stop by early to reserve your spot — seating is limited.

January 12, 12 p.m. – Multi-Agentic AI in Retail will feature Nimble, YDISTRI, and Omnistream demonstrating how multiple AI agents collaborate in a store environment to optimize inventory, assortment, and insights in real time.

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