# Lindon Gao

> Lindon Gao is the co-founder and CEO of Dyna Robotics, a Redwood City-based company building commercially deployed foundation model robots for real-world automation. After immigrating from China at age 11, he attended Stuyvesant High School and NYU Stern before pivoting from Goldman Sachs investment banking to entrepreneurship. He co-founded Caper AI, an AI-powered smart grocery cart company acquired by Instacart for $350 million in 2021. In 2024, he left Instacart to launch Dyna Robotics alongside York Yang and former Google DeepMind scientist Jason Ma. Within a year, Dyna raised $143.5 million in total funding, achieved a $600 million valuation, and deployed robots folding napkins and handling laundry for 16 hours daily at hotels, restaurants, gyms, and laundromats — backed by NVIDIA, Amazon, Salesforce Ventures, and First Round Capital.

- **Role:** Co-Founder & CEO at Dyna Robotics
- **Organizations:** Dyna Robotics, Caper AI, Instacart, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Y Combinator, LPG Crafts
- **From:** China
- **Nationality:** American (born China)
- **Education:** High School Diploma, Stuyvesant High School, BS in Finance and International Business, NYU Stern School of Business
- **Known for:** Co-founded Caper AI and sold it to Instacart for $350 million in 2021, Named to Forbes 30 Under 30 in Retail & Ecommerce (2020), Raised $143.5 million in total funding for Dyna Robotics within its first year

## Career timeline

- **~2004** — Immigrated to the United States from China at age 11 when his father gained citizenship
- **~2007** — Founded first company at age 14 in gaming commerce; sold it two years later
- **~2012** — Started LPG Crafts at age 19, a jewelry supply chain management business that grew to multi-million dollar revenue
- **2013** — Graduated from NYU Stern with a BS in Finance and International Business
- **2013-2015** — Worked in investment banking at Goldman Sachs for 2.5 years
- **2015** — Worked briefly at JP Morgan in investment banking
- **2016** — Co-founded QueueHop (app-enabled anti-theft apparel tag); accepted to Y Combinator W16; raised $150K seed
- **2016** — QueueHop work pivoted toward Caper AI — using computer vision for retail checkout
- **2018** — Launched Caper AI, building AI-powered smart shopping carts with cameras and weight sensors
- **2020** — Named to Forbes 30 Under 30 (Retail & Ecommerce category) for Caper AI
- **2021** — Instacart acquired Caper AI for $350 million; Gao became VP, General Manager, In-Store at Instacart
- **2021-2024** — Led Instacart's in-store digitization team, scaling computer vision and hardware across grocery chains including ShopRite, Kroger, and Aldi
- **2024** — Left Instacart to co-found Dyna Robotics with York Yang and Jason Ma (former Google DeepMind research scientist)
- **2025-03** — Dyna Robotics emerged from stealth with $23.5M seed round led by CRV and First Round Capital; valued at ~$100M
- **2025-09** — Dyna Robotics raised $120M Series A led by Robostrategy, CRV, and First Round Capital; valuation exceeded $600M
- **2025** — DYNA-1 launched — the first commercially deployed dexterous manipulation foundation model, achieving 99.4% success rate over 24-hour non-stop operation; deployed at hotels, restaurants, laundromats, and gyms

## Achievements

- Co-founded Caper AI and sold it to Instacart for $350 million in 2021
- Named to Forbes 30 Under 30 in Retail & Ecommerce (2020)
- Raised $143.5 million in total funding for Dyna Robotics within its first year
- Built Dyna Robotics to a $600 million valuation within 12 months of founding
- Shipped DYNA-1: the world's first commercially deployed dexterous manipulation foundation model
- Achieved 99.4% success rate in 24-hour non-stop napkin-folding operations with DYNA-1
- Secured backing from NVIDIA Ventures, Amazon Industrial Innovation Fund, and Salesforce Ventures
- Started first business at age 14 and sold it profitably two years later
- Built LPG Crafts into a multi-million dollar jewelry supply chain management company at age 19
- Y Combinator-backed founder (W16 cohort with QueueHop)

## Latest updates

- **2025-09** — Dyna Robotics raised $120 million in Series A funding led by Robostrategy, CRV, and First Round Capital, with NVIDIA Ventures, Amazon Industrial Innovation Fund, Salesforce Ventures, Samsung Next, and LG Technology Ventures participating; valuation exceeded $600 million.
- **2025-04** — CRV highlighted Lindon Gao's description of the genesis behind DYNA-1, expanding the company's public profile around its first foundation model for dexterous manipulation.
- **2025-03** — Dyna Robotics emerged from stealth, announcing a $23.5 million seed round and debuting DYNA-1, which had already achieved a 99.4% success rate folding napkins in restaurants for 24 hours non-stop.

## Links

- Website: https://dyna.co
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/lindon-gao
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/Lindon_Gao

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/lindon-gao
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-16