AiFi CEO Explains How an SNL Skit is Evidence of Cashierless Checkout Moving Towards Mainstream

Steve Gu talks new investors, new verticals and new features.

You don’t normally expect Saturday Night Live to come up during a video chat with a startup founder, but that’s exactly what happened when I spoke with AiFi CEO Steve Gu this week.

He was referencing the Amazon Go "Just Walk Out” parody that ran on this past weekend’s episode. The skit is more about racial inequality than cashierless checkout technology, but for Gu, the fact that such a skit appeared at all on a popular show like SNL meant something even more.

“You get a sense that it's entering into mainstream if it's on SNL,” Gu said, “People these days are getting more familiar about the concept.”

That means Gu and other CEOs in the cashierless space can spend less time explaining the concept of autonomous stores to retailers, and spend more time signing those retailers up as clients.

AiFi made headlines at the end of last week when it announced a $65 million Series B fundraise. I took the opportunity to catch up with Gu, who told me about AiFi’s new investors, new verticals its entering and new features coming down the pike.