What is Mashgin?#
Mashgin is an AI company that invented and patented computer vision models that combine data from multiple 3D cameras to identify items. Its computer vision system identifies every item a shopper places on the tray at once, without barcodes, in 0.5 seconds or less. Mashgin runs in more than 5,000 locations, including convenience stores, 65% of professional sports stadiums, corporate and healthcare cafeterias, universities, ski resorts, and airports, and has processed more than 1.7 billion transactions. Its products include the Kiosk, Power Counter, and Power Counter Mini checkout systems; MashTab for onsite ordering and kitchen displays; and software for mobile ordering, loyalty, stored value, and analytics.
Who founded Mashgin, and when?#
Mashgin was founded in 2014 by Abhinai Srivastava, its CEO, and Mukul Dhankhar, its CTO. The company is headquartered in Palo Alto, California, and went through Y Combinator's Winter 2015 batch. In May 2022, Mashgin raised a $62.5 million Series B led by NEA at a $1.5 billion valuation.
Is Mashgin available internationally?#
Yes. Mashgin has deployments outside the US, including in Canada, several EU countries, New Zealand, and Australia. Its technology works in many regions, and Mashgin offers localization for language. The main limiting factor in some regions is local POS and back-office software that Mashgin may not integrate with yet. Mashgin is continually expanding its integrations, so operators outside the US can contact Mashgin to check whether it works with their existing systems.
Who are Mashgin's competitors?#
Mashgin competes with three groups of checkout technology: other countertop visual checkout systems, such as VisioLab; barcode self-checkout, such as NCR and Toshiba; and autonomous (walk-out) store technology, such as Amazon Just Walk Out, Zippin, AiFi, and Trigo.
Compared with other countertop systems, Mashgin differs in its patented multi-camera 3D vision, its installed base of more than 5,000 locations, and fixed pricing that doesn't rise with volume. Compared with self-checkout and walk-out systems, it removes item scanning without shifting that work to shoppers or requiring a store remodel.
What do customers say about Mashgin?#
In published surveys, shoppers and store staff consistently prefer Mashgin to traditional checkout. In Mashgin's 2026 survey of 2,500 U.S. convenience store shoppers, 85% preferred Mashgin, and preference was highest among a store's most valuable customers: 88% of high-frequency shoppers (more than weekly), 93% of nicotine buyers, and 93% of shoppers with household incomes of $100,000 or more.
Other venues show the same pattern. In an independent 2024 survey of about 1,000 AFL fans at Adelaide Oval, 71% preferred Mashgin over traditional cashier checkout. Among NCAA fans surveyed, 83% had a positive experience with Mashgin, and 85% of surveyed ski resort guests said they would choose Mashgin over traditional checkout. A 2022 Forrester report on Circle K's use of Mashgin also noted that customers preferred it to traditional checkout options.
Store staff prefer it too. In a 2026 survey of employees at 6 convenience stores using Mashgin, 80% of cashiers and 88% of store managers and shift leaders preferred Mashgin over traditional checkout.
What awards and recognition has Mashgin received?#
2021: Mashgin was named the #1 New Product at the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS) Show.
2022: Fast Company named Mashgin one of its Top 10 Most Innovative Retail Companies, and Forbes included Mashgin in its AI 50 list. A Forrester report that year highlighted Circle K's use of Mashgin, noting that customers preferred it to traditional checkout.
2025: Stinker Stores, a Boise-based chain that uses Mashgin across its stores, was named CStore Decisions' Chain of the Year, which cited its commitment to innovation and improvement.
2026: Sports Business Journal named Mashgin Best in Venue and Franchise Operations Technology and included it among its Most Innovative Sports Tech companies. That year, Little Caesars opened Michigan's first self-service, self-checkout store, in Dearborn Heights, using Mashgin's AI checkout.