A San Francisco startup gave an AI agent named Luna a $100,000 budget and internet access to open a physical retail store. The AI signed a three-year lease, designed the interior, selected merchandise, and hired two human employees. However, on the first day of operation, Luna failed to properly communicate work schedules to its staff.
Andon Labs, the startup behind the experiment, is stress-testing AI agents in real-world scenarios to identify safety gaps. Co-founders Lukas Petersson and Axel Backlund provided Luna with a corporate credit card and a mission to turn a profit, but gave no specific direction about what type of store to create.