{"id":"b2b42f84-7454-4e74-9633-9e1ee5182dc0","name":"Caper AI","slug":"caper-ai","description":"Caper AI was a New York-based startup developing AI-powered smart shopping carts for autonomous checkout. Founded by Lindon Gao, the company raised $10M Series A and was acquired by Instacart for $350M in 2021. The founder subsequently launched a new robotics startup.","status":"acquired (by Instacart, 2021)","founded":2016,"hq":"New York, NY, USA","fundingTotal":null,"type":"both","reviewStatus":"reviewed","lifecycleState":"active","supersededByCompanyId":null,"sources":[{"url":"https://www.instacart.com/","title":"Instacart Caper","date_accessed":"2026-06-24"}],"keyFacts":[{"label":"HQ","value":"New York, NY"},{"label":"Founded","value":"2016"},{"label":"Technology","value":"AI-powered smart shopping cart and checkout technology"},{"label":"Stage","value":"Acquired by Instacart"},{"label":"CEO","value":"Lindon Gao"},{"label":"Product","value":"AI-powered smart shopping cart for autonomous checkout"},{"label":"Acquired by","value":"Instacart for $350M (2021)"}],"aliases":["Caper"],"collisionRisk":"low","reviewNote":null,"atsProvider":null,"atsSlug":null,"factoryLocations":null,"manufacturingCapacity":null,"orgType":null,"burnSignal":null,"litigationEvents":null,"insurancePostureDisclosed":null,"unitEconomicsDisclosed":null,"createdAt":"2026-06-25T00:29:49.727Z","updatedAt":"2026-07-04T00:33:09.254Z","jsonLd":{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Organization","@id":"https://registry.deploy.report/companies/caper-ai","url":"https://registry.deploy.report/companies/caper-ai","name":"Caper AI","alternateName":["Caper"],"description":"Caper AI was a New York-based startup developing AI-powered smart shopping carts for autonomous checkout. Founded by Lindon Gao, the company raised $10M Series A and was acquired by Instacart for $350M in 2021. The founder subsequently launched a new robotics startup.","identifier":"b2b42f84-7454-4e74-9633-9e1ee5182dc0","foundingDate":"2016","address":"New York, NY, USA","publisher":{"@id":"https://deploy.report/#organization"}},"framework_metadata":{"framework_schema_version":"0.1.0","verification_status":"verified","maturity_stage":null,"lifecycle_state":null,"architectural_position":{"cohort":null,"sub_cohorts":[]},"within_cohort_verified_vs_claimed_pair":null,"cap_flags":[],"verification_depth":{"sources_count":1,"primary_source_types":[]}}}