How ‘Minority Report’ Gave Birth To DISPL, An AI-Led In-Store Retail Media Platform

Retail media has become a growing force as brands and retailers pursue all sorts of ways of communicating with, and finding out more about, their customers. Emarketer puts the value of the U.S. market this year at $62.35 billion with a forecast CAGR of over 17% to 2028.

Pushing the boundaries in this sector through AI-powered audience analytics and smart digital signage is Cyprus-based startup DISPL. After just 2.5 years, the company has raised more than $2 million and hired a team that includes former executives from companies like New Jersey-based cloud tech company Avaya and omnichannel communication platform Jivo. Last year, DISPL also represented Cyprus at the final of the Startup World Cup 2024 in San Francisco.

Co-founder and CEO Serge Gale, a serial entrepreneur, is the driving force behind the DISPL. He has taken the best part of a decade and five pivots to bring the company to where it is today. DISPL’s path began with mobile apps, inspired by the future-set 2002 Steven Spielberg-directed Minority Report.

One scene featured a holographic salesperson and this made Gale think about creating all kinds of AI-driven solutions for retail that could redefine how businesses interact with customers.

Gale, met the other co-founder Alex Rekish in 2012, and now DISPL’s CTO, when they worked together at an outsourcing development studio that Gale founded. In 2016, Lina Fleitman, who had worked at Avaya, was brought into the fold as chief revenue officer.

Retail media in brick-and-mortar stores

After some iterations, DISPL has become a platform for implementing retail media in-store. “We help retailers, brands, and distributors unlock new revenue streams by monetizing physical spaces—making offline marketing measurable and seamlessly connected to digital,” said Gale.

What does this mean? The platform collects real-time customer demographics and behavior data, allowing retailers to understand foot traffic, optimize staff performance, and deliver personalized marketing experiences directly in-store. This can enhance customer engagement to drive sales and position retailers to capture more market share.

In providing these services, DISPL stressed that it is fully committed to ethical AI usage, prioritizing privacy and regulatory compliance. “Our solutions comply with global data protection standards, ensuring no personal data storage or facial recognition,” emphasized Gale.

Regional distributed partnerships

DISPL’s expansion model has been to establish strategic partnerships in different parts of the world to get the word out faster and show the platform’s effectiveness. One of them is with Brazil’s GlobalTera, with a view to reshaping Brazilian retailing through AI. The company, part of GT Holding, specializes in technology solutions targeting gas stations, supermarkets, and other stores.

Bruno Lyra, the founder of GlobalTera, said: “The ability to track visitor traffic was a game-changer. This type of technology is rare in Brazil, and when we show it to clients, they’re immediately intrigued. DISPL’s mix of digital signage and analytics was exactly what we needed.”

The Brazilian company is using DISPL to expand in the country’s retail market, which remains quite traditional and in need of a tech boost. Precisely understanding the audience that is in a store is becoming essential, but something retailers often neglect.

Lyra said: “It was love at first sight with DISPL, based on what we already knew from the market. The platform can control digital screens and analyze the audience. We decided it was the technology we needed to eliminate barriers and drive our expansion.” Rio de Janeiro state’s supermarket chain Rede Economia, with just under 40 stores, was one of the first adopters in Brazil.

Latin stepping stones to a U.S. prize

Other South American markets are also a target for DISPL. Gale said: “We are aggressively scaling across Latin America and also setting the foundation for major expansion in North America. Our platform is already powering in-store marketing across top-tier retail chains like PriceSmart, the membership warehouse club operator in Latin America, USA, and the Caribbean, as well as some brand zones in Mexico’s Chedraui, and Walmart. It is changing how offline businesses run their marketing and analyze its impact.”

In the latter two cases, DISPL has been implemented, through a partner, to help optimize brand spaces and fridge displays with AI-powered audience insights. “Achieving these results is a strategic leap for us, and we’re just getting started,” said Gale.

“You can also find our solutions integrated in leading car dealerships, electronics retailers, and high-traffic hospitality zones,” he added. “While many of our flagship deployments are under strict non-disclosure agreements (NDAs), what we can share is this: global leaders choose DISPL when they want to combine measurable results, stable and efficient operations, and world-class tech.”

Gale is now eager to get a slice of the U.S. retail media ad spend market, expected to be worth $98 billion by 2028. The tech company is currently active across the Americas, Europe, and Southeast Asia, helping retailers generate new revenue streams.

The startup chose Cyprus to launch for the country’s favorable business environment: a 15% corporate tax rate; European Union membership offering easy routes-to-market; and strong IP incentives. “Additionally, our investor ASBIS Corporate VC has a hi-tech cluster here, providing office space, tax services, and support for relocating top talent, making it an ideal location for scaling up,” said Gale.

Possible relocation to the U.S.

However, the CEO is considering relocating the company’s headquarters to Los Angeles, to tap into the much larger U.S. market and gain closer access to key partners, investors, and tech hubs. Gale said: “The U.S. offers a dynamic ecosystem for tech growth, particularly in California, which has a strong base in media, retail, and AI—industries critical to our product. Establishing a presence here would enhance our visibility and facilitate fundraising with global VCs. Additionally, L.A. provides access to top talent in AI and marketing, which would support our scaling efforts.”

DISPL says it is currently powering over 3,500 touchpoints globally with brands such as Greek electrical retailer Kotsovolos; Domino’s Pizza and Indomaret in Asia (implemented by partner XION1); and Bang & Olufsen in Europe, in collaboration with ASBIS.

From using digital signage to provide omni-channel experiences—where customers can, for example, scan a product with their mobile devices to access product reviews, videos, and special offers; to price checkers that also enable collection of anonymous analytics about visitors and show targeted content—the company has multiple solutions available to retailers.

These interactive scenarios increase customer engagement, and the extra information provided can raise the chances of a purchase by up to 25%, also drive average transaction values, according to the company. “Our mission is to help businesses operate smarter and more efficiently with AI technology,” explained Gale.

Next up… autonomous environments

Now DISPL is building an AI-powered analytics agent that simplifies and boosts marketing at the point-of-sale, helping retailers analyze and understand foot traffic insights, staff performance, and retail media monetization. This, the company believes, will transform physical retail spaces into data-rich marketing platforms. “Each point-of-sale functions like an individual website, where manual marketing experiments are costly and complex,” said Gale.

“Our AI agent automates these processes, providing a programmatic approach to in-store marketing and, this year, we will launch this agent at scale. It is a major milestone that will enable our clients to manage networks of hundreds, or thousands, of stores across multiple countries by one marketing team.”

Gale’s ultimate aim is to make DISPL the equivalent of “Google Ads for physical spaces.” By continuously adding useful new features, the CEO hopes to set the platform apart from competitors in the AI-powered retail media market so that retailers see it as a comprehensive go-to solution for all their offline marketing.