Work & OperationsDone with custom-built or unnamed agent Sep 14, 2026
Run a company autonomously
Andon Labs on why they built Pion, an agent designed to run any company on its own.
- What They Did
- Andon Labs built Pion to run its real businesses: vending machines, a retail store in SF, a cafe in Stockholm and radio stations. Persistent agents get email, phone, banking, browser and secure computing environments. Pion is now open as a research preview, and people with a business or idea can join a waitlist. Andon says it relies on automated monitoring to catch unwanted behavior.
- How It Went
- Early agents made costly mistakes, and by late 2025 frontier models ran a vending machine profitably. The store and cafe lost money early and are still unprofitable, though they have improved with newer models.
- Worth Knowing
- The store and cafe lost a lot of money early, partly from rent and the salaries of the humans they hired. Expect incidents, since Andon says unchecked agents risk them.
Try it yourself with custom-built or unnamed agent
I want to test how far an AI agent can run a small business: [describe business, e.g. an online store for X]. Draft an operating plan covering sourcing, pricing, customer messages, and daily tasks, and list what you can do on your own versus what needs my approval. Do not spend money, publish anything, or contact anyone until you've shown me the exact action and I've approved it.