Glance and Google Bring AI Shopping to Android TVs — Startup Funding India, October 2026

Google and Glance, the AI-powered personal shopping platform backed by Indian tech major InMobi, announced a partnership on October 21, 2026 to bring AI-powered commerce to Android TVs. Launching across the United States, India and Japan, the integration turns the television's ambient screen from a passive backdrop into an interactive, AI-driven inspiration portal for shopping and discovery — a landmark moment for the startup funding in India ecosystem's AI-commerce story.

From dormant screens to shopping agents

The centrepiece is an AI-powered shopping agent: a unified commerce layer across mobile and TV, backed by hundreds of retailer integrations, acting as a personal concierge for curated products. Immersive Discovery lets consumers explore high-definition content across fashion, travel, food, wellness and other lifestyle categories, with proprietary AI offering contextual lifestyle simulations and try-on visualisations. Shop the Look allows users to interact with curated looks on screen and purchase directly through integrated retail partners.

Opt-in by design

The experience is entirely opt-in — Android TV owners keep Google's default Backdrop unless they choose the Glance-powered ambient screen. "We are moving beyond the era of the 'dormant' screen," said Naveen Tewari, CEO and Founder of InMobi and Glance. "By combining the scale of Google's Android TV ecosystem with Glance's AI-first commerce models, we are turning the living room into a space where inspiration meets intent." Glance is operated by Glance InMobi Pte. Ltd., an associate of InMobi backed by Mithril Capital, Google and Jio Platforms, and the partnership builds on its existing distribution deals with Airtel and DIRECTV.