Omani tech startup Walkk targets retail efficiency with AI-powered platform

MUSCAT: An innovative Omani technology startup, Walkk, is positioning its AI-driven indoor navigation and retail intelligence platform to transform store operations, potentially supporting the Sultanate of Oman's ambitions for digital transformation, productivity enhancement and technology-led entrepreneurship.
Featured in the latest edition of Enjaz & Eejaz, the newsletter of Oman Investment Authority (OIA), Walkk has evolved from a conventional indoor wayfinding application into an intelligent platform that helps retailers optimise workflows, accelerate order fulfilment and improve operational efficiency.
The platform's novelty lies in its ability to create a digital twin of a retail outlet, connecting individual products to their precise shelf locations and integrating this information with the retailer's existing inventory systems.
This intelligence enables employees to locate products, identify the most efficient routes through stores and complete multiple tasks in an optimal sequence, significantly reducing time otherwise spent searching for merchandise.
According to the OIA publication, Walkk's technology has demonstrated a 50 per cent reduction in order fulfilment time, with potential savings of 10–15 minutes per in-store round. A store's digital twin can be developed in approximately one week, while a complete operational cycle for a large outlet takes around 14 days.
Walkk originated in Oman as a solution to the challenge of navigating complex indoor environments. Its developers subsequently recognised that the underlying mapping technology could address a more commercially significant problem: the inefficiencies associated with locating products and managing workflows in large retail establishments.
The resulting proprietary shelf data intelligence layer now supports applications ranging from online order picking and replenishment to store inspections, inventory-related tasks and general retail operations.
Potential customers include hypermarkets, quick-commerce operators, dark stores and major retail chains, while the original wayfinding technology remains applicable to exhibitions and large venues.
Walkk has expanded its operational footprint to Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, and has piloted indoor navigation solutions at the Doha Jewellery and Watches Exhibition.
Its business model also allows retailers to adopt the technology without direct costs within the delivery workflow, potentially encouraging wider deployment.
The company's inclusion in OIA's newsletter highlights the importance of Oman-backed technology ventures in building a knowledge-based economy. However, the publication does not disclose whether OIA holds a direct or indirect equity stake in Walkk, or the size of any investment commitment.
For Oman, the platform presents opportunities to modernise retail operations, strengthen e-commerce fulfilment capabilities and improve workforce productivity without proportionate increases in staffing or major changes to existing infrastructure.
These potential applications align with Oman Vision 2040 emphasis on digital innovation, private-sector competitiveness and the development of high-value technology enterprises.