Top Retail Technology Startups in 2026

At Mashgin, we are developing the future of checkout experiences. We aim to reduce the friction between customer desires and their ability to be on their way. Our ecosystem is anchored by the only 3D computer vision and deep learning based checkout system in the world. With customers across a wide spectrum of verticals including the NFL, MLB, and Aramark, our company and product adoption are growing at a rapid pace.

One platform. One API. All Channels - from Pure-Play Webstore to Omnichannel infrastructure.

Incode Technologies is an omnichannel biometric identity company that builds secure, top-rated solutions for frictionless banking, hospitality, and retail experiences. Incode sets a new standard in convenience and security in order to enhance customer experiences and build a global database of identities using the world’s fastest edge-facial recognition technology as recognized by the United States Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Incode’s anti-spoofing technology, LiveBeam, doesn’t require any user interaction and is the first passive facial liveness system in the world to achieve Level-1 certification for NIST iBeta Presentation Attack Detection (PAD) testing. The company’s web and mobile solutions are adopted globally for a variety of applications, including onboarding, identity & ID verification, and transactions by some of the world’s largest financial institutions, governments, and retailers. Founded in 2015 by a passionate serial-entrepreneur and a group of hard-working individuals, we seek out people from diverse backgrounds and encourage them to take risks and approach new challenges unconventionally. We believe brilliant minds have the power to do great things! We’re a fun-loving, goal-crushing team who are immensely proud to be part of a common goal: to map the identity of humankind. Headquartered in San Francisco, the company operates globally with additional offices in Latin America and Europe.

The NewStore Mobile Retail Platform empowers brands to deliver an extraordinary end-to-end shopping experience for consumers. Built entirely from a mobile perspective, it integrates with existing ecommerce platforms such as Salesforce Commerce Cloud, SAP Hybris, Oracle ATG, and Magento. NewStore raises the omnichannel bar with one-touch purchase, scalable clienteling, and on-demand delivery — all optimized for the small screen. Founded by Stephan Schambach, creator of Demandware (now Salesforce Commerce Cloud), NewStore boosts conversion, promotes engagement, unifies online and offline, and modernizes fulfillment. NewStore is headquartered in Boston. For more information, visit newstore.com.

Madison Reed (madison-reed.com) is an e-commerce start-up with a team of 180+ rock stars in San Francisco. We’re revolutionizing the $50B hair care market using technology (web, mobile, tablet, social) to radically innovate the user experience and business model. Madison Reed is headquartered in SF and backed by top-tier venture capital firms Norwest VP, True Ventures, Maveron and Shea Ventures.

RADAR is an RFID & computer vision platform that automates inventory management, analytics & check out in physical stores. The company offers to manage inventory efficiently, through automated inventory counts, improved in-store replenishment and instantaneous customer stock checks, measure all customer-product interactions, giving physical stores the same insight into consumer behavior and product performance as online stores, and eliminate checkout lines altogether through our autonomous checkout tool. RADAR was founded in 2013 and is headquartered in New York, NY, USA.

Cooklist is the AI grocery‑intelligence platform powering meal planning and shopping for millions of consumers across our consumer app and white‑label enterprise suite. Our mission is to combine the intelligence of a personal shopper, chef, and nutritionist to help people save time, eat better, and enjoy happier lives. We’re profitable, process billions of dollars in transactions at the nation’s largest retailers, and our mobile experiences reach millions of people. We’re backed by Techstars, Mercury Fund, and industry leaders including the former CTO of Kroger and the Chief Product Officer of Amazon Fresh.

Pindrop® Protect provides a risk score and call intelligence to the call center in the first few seconds of each call. The risk score — along with the analysis of the caller’s voice, device, and behavior — is provided to the call center’s fraud analyst team for further investigation. Pindrop’s proprietary machine learning algorithms then use feedback from the investigation to maximize solution performance. Pindrop® Passport evaluates call center interactions in real-time to passively authenticate legitimate customers. Passport runs in the background of every call, combining patented Phoneprinting™ technology with proprietary Deep Voice™ biometrics to determine if a caller has the right device, voice, and behavior to access an account. Whether callers use voice or touch-tone interactions within the IVR — or opt to speak to an agent — Pindrop credentials follow customers across the lifecycle of each call.

Placer.ai is a fast-growing big data startup led by seasoned executives and repeat entrepreneurs who are building the world's first "Google Analytics for the physical world" platform. Placer.ai’s platform provides instant visibility into any property in the U.S., presenting accurate details about visitation patterns and demographic breakdowns of visitors. Placer.ai’s customers can see where visitors have been before, where they go afterwards, where they typically go for sports, entertainment, groceries, etcetera, and what their interests are. Placer.ai's A.I.-based SaaS platform replaces archaic solutions such as manual surveys, installed cameras and other people counting systems, thus creating a blue ocean market of more than $100B. Placer.ai has grown 3x year-over-year for the past 3 years, counting more than 500 paying customers across a range of industries, including 2 of the world’s top 10 retailers, 2 of the top 10 CPG firms worldwide, a world’s top hospitality firm, 2 of the world’s top 10 commercial real estate (CRE) firms and 2 of the world’s top multinational asset managers and hedge funds. Placer has just raised its $50M Series B funding.

Happy Returns is transforming e-commerce by solving the #1 pain point of online shopping: returns. We do this by providing the method of returns that customers overwhelmingly prefer – in person returns – through a network of physical Return Bars staffed by friendly, highly-trained Returnistas located in premier shopping centers, corporate and college campuses and other convenient spots. With Happy Returns, shoppers get a return method that is easy, friendly, free, involves no packing or shipping, and provides an immediate refund. Retailers using Happy Returns save money through aggregation and enjoy increased conversions and customer loyalty and satisfaction. Join the Happy Returns team as we make returns beautiful and usher in the next generation of happy shopping.