[Interview] "With 10 Months' Worth of Labor Costs, It Is Possible to Establish an Unmanned Convenience Store"

Jongjin Kim, CEO of InterMinds, "Expanding to 10 Fully Autonomous Unmanned Stores This Year"
AI Cameras Automatically Analyze Customer Movements in Real Time

Several people are selecting products at a convenience store. They pick up snacks and also take beer from the refrigerator. Soon, they change their minds, put the beer back, and pick up a beverage instead. While customers choose items displayed inside the store and leave, no staff are visible. There is no separate payment process either. Once they exit, payment is automatically completed. After a single authentication upon entry, AI cameras accurately recognize which products are selected and automatically charge the linked payment method.

This place is the headquarters of AI company InterMinds located in Pangyo, designed to replicate a convenience store so employees can actually use it and test the solution. The company partnered with CU to operate this kind of ‘fully autonomous AI unmanned store’ at the Korea Internet & Security Agency’s Naju headquarters until December last year. Currently, they operate an unmanned convenience store at the Korea Fujitsu headquarters in Gwanghwamun. Their goal is to open 10 more locations this year. We spoke with CEO Kim Jong-jin about InterMinds’ technology that is changing the future of consumption.

Kim Jong-jin, CEO of Interminds, is demonstrating a fully autonomous unmanned store solution at the Pangyo office.

CEO Kim said, "We plan to open one or two more unmanned convenience stores within office buildings in the first half of the year and gradually expand to road shops." InterMinds’ unmanned store solution, ‘StorePop,’ is completely different from the conventional method where customers scan barcodes and pay by card. It is not a concept to replace employees’ work. AI cameras analyze customers’ movements in real time automatically, so customers just pick up products and leave. Although there are no employees, purchasing becomes more convenient. CEO Kim explained, "Not only does it automatically recognize products and process payments, but it also monitors inventory in real time and can automatically place orders. In the future, we plan to equip security features that detect abnormal behavior in the store and take actions such as reporting."

According to CEO Kim, InterMinds is the only company in Korea that can immediately commercialize such unmanned store solutions. There are Chinese companies as well, but there is a difference in technology and price competitiveness. He said, "For the same area, the setup cost of Chinese company solutions is three times higher, and operating costs are more than twice as expensive. This makes it difficult for store owners to afford, and there is also the issue of various data being transferred to China."

CEO Kim is focusing on advancing the technology and lowering setup costs to expand StorePop. Currently, the setup cost for a 33㎡ (10-pyeong) store is about 70 to 80 million KRW. They aim to reduce this to below 50 million KRW so that convenience store owners can accept it. He said, "In convenience stores, the setup cost can be recovered in less than 10 months just from the reduction in existing labor costs. It also solves the difficulty of finding staff to work at night."

CEO Kim Jong-jin is introducing 'Doorpop'.

This StorePop technology is condensed into InterMinds’ current flagship product, ‘DoorPop.’ It is a smart refrigerator that allows card payment simply by taking out items. InterMinds laid the foundation for growth by installing about 100 DoorPop units nationwide. They supplied them to major convenience stores including CU, GS25, and Emart24, as well as hotels and unmanned cafes. In Guui-dong, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, there is even a specialized unmanned liquor store operating solely with DoorPop. There is also high demand at campsites. The goal for this year is to distribute 300 new units.

CEO Kim, who built his career in advertising and encountered machine learning technology through real-time text analysis, later served as CEO of AI company MindsLab before founding InterMinds in 2016. While collaborating with Lotte Data Communication, InterMinds began specializing in developing unmanned solutions applied to the distribution sector. He said, "This year, we will advance our unmanned store solutions, expand their application, and maintain stable operations. We are also seeking local partners to enter global markets such as the U.S., Europe, and Vietnam."