Instacart buys Caper AI for smart grocery carts

Instacart is buying Caper AI, maker of smart grocery carts, for $350 million in cash and stock. In a Tuesday release, Instacart said it expects to integrate Caper's technology into not only the Instacart app but also those of its retail partners. The purchase is the latest in Instacart's expansion into retailer platform investments. 

Though only deployed in North American retail outlets, Caper makes both smart carts that can recognize items placed in them and smart checkout counters that use cameras and weight sensors to auto-detect items placed on counters.