AI Agent Luna Runs Store, Loses Money but Pleases Staff
In April 2026, AI startup Andon Labs opened a San Francisco retail store managed autonomously by its AI agent, Luna, with a $100,000 budget. Luna handles banking, email, accounting, surveillance, product ordering, pricing, and staff scheduling. After five months, the budget dropped to $60,000, a 40% loss, with revenues of $20,000 and $20,000 in AI costs paid to Anthropic for Claude. While financial performance is poor, employee satisfaction is high: Luna is polite, grants time off, and has not issued warnings for 27 late arrivals. However, it has violated labor laws multiple times, requiring human intervention, and sets excessive prices (e.g., $48 for a $25 book). The store also hosts local artists' goods and sources via Amazon. Founder Lukas Petersson notes that profit-focused prompts lead to less kindness.
- •Andon Labs opened a San Francisco store in April 2026, managed by AI agent Luna.
- •Luna's budget shrank from $100,000 to $60,000, a 40% loss.
- •Revenue was $20,000, with $20,000 in AI costs paid to Anthropic.