Caper AI

Caper AI (alternatively known as Caper) is a software technology company that develops and implements self-service checkout shopping carts as well as AI-based software applications for retailers, wholesalers and distributors of fast-moving consumer goods, mainly in the grocery, convenience store, and foodservice industries. Caper AI was established in 2016 by Lindon Gao, York Yang and Ahmed Beshry as Caper Inc. It is headquartered in Manhattan, NY.

History
The company was founded in 2016 by Lindon Gao, York Yang and Ahmed Beshry with its main office based out of New York. Since its inception, the company focused on the development of automated checkout software to grocery retailers. Caper AI closed its series A round of funding for US$10 million in 2019. In 2019, Sobeys, the second-largest food retailer in Canada, publicly announced about commercial deployment of the Caper's Smart Cart technology with its first location being at Glen Abbey Sobeys supermarket in Oakville, Ontario. As Grocery Dive notes, "The novel coronavirus pandemic has accelerated the deployment of programs that help shoppers get in and get out from stores as quickly as possible". According to Wall Street Journal and Washington Post, Caper's technology started to roll out in the US and Canada grocery stores in 2019. The deployments include Foodcellar & Co., C-town, Met Fresh Market, Pioneer Supermarkets, Gala Fresh Farms and Brooklyn Fare, among others. In autumn 2020, the company introduced Caper Counter, a cashierless countertop for small grocery stores under 10 000 sq feet and fewer than 10K SKUs with a software applying machine learning algorithms, computer vision and Sensor Fusion technology.

In 2020, one of the largest American chain retailer Kroger launched "KroGo" AI-powered shopping carts, developed by Caper AI. The pilot program was introduced at one of its stores in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Technology
Caper AI uses several technologies to automate retail payment processing, including computer vision, deep learning algorithms, and sensor fusion for the purchase, checkout, and payment steps associated with a retail transaction., weight sensors, and computer vision equipped on each shopping cart for automatic self-service checkout. Company claims that its technology can recognize products that are similar or identical, but can also differentiate between them based on variety and size. The software is installed on Caper Smart Carts that automatically detect the items put in it and calculate total cost using cameras, scale, weight sensors, and computer vision equipped on each shopping cart for automatic self-service checkout.