Lowe's Innovation Labs
Lowe's Innovation Labs is the internal emerging-technology hub of Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE: LOW), developing AR/VR, AI, robotics, and spatial-computing prototypes such as the Style Studio for Apple Vision Pro, a ChatGPT Product Expert, an NVIDIA Omniverse Store Digital Twin, and LiDAR measurement tools deployed across Lowe's retail and digital channels.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2014
- HeadquartersKirkland, United States
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Lowe's Innovation Labs does
Lowe's Innovation Labs is the internal disruptive-innovation hub of Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE: LOW), a Fortune 50 home improvement retailer founded in 1946 with FY2021 sales above $96 billion, roughly 2,200 stores, and more than 300,000 associates. Launched in 2014 and headquartered in Kirkland, Washington, with an additional Tech Hub in Charlotte, North Carolina opened in October 2022, the Labs is a multidisciplinary team of 51–100 specialists exploring emerging technologies for home improvement retail across three thematic areas: Democratization of Expertise, Spatial Commerce, and Future Stores.
The Labs' portfolio spans spatial computing, AR/VR, AI, robotics, IoT, LiDAR, and blockchain. Shipped or piloted products include the Lowe's Style Studio for Apple Vision Pro (a spatial-computing kitchen design experience with roughly 80 billion possible combinations), Lowe's Product Expert custom GPT for ChatGPT Plus, Store Digital Twin built on NVIDIA Omniverse and viewable via Magic Leap 2 AR headsets, Measure Your Space (LiDAR-based room scanning in the Lowe's iOS app), the LoweBot NAVii retail service robot with Fellow Robots, Holoroom VR training and demo experiences, Infinite Kitchen AR/VR prototypes with Google Cloud and HaptX, Associate Exosuits co-developed with Virginia Tech, and the Project Unlock RFID plus blockchain anti-theft platform. The 500+ asset Open Builder 3D library extends the catalog into XR developer ecosystems including NVIDIA Omniverse.
Commercially the Labs does not operate as an independent business: revenue is not separately disclosed, the unit functions as a managed internal innovation capability inside Lowe's, and customer-facing features are delivered free to consumers through the Lowe's mobile apps, Lowes.com, and partner platforms (Apple App Store visionOS, ChatGPT Custom GPT Store, Open Builder website). Distribution is omnichannel through the parent's 2,200+ retail stores, mobile apps, and web properties, with selective exposure via third-party ecosystems. Strategic technology partners include NVIDIA, Google Cloud, Apple, OpenAI, Microsoft, HaptX, Streem, Fellow Robots, and Virginia Tech, and the Labs has won Auggie Awards in 2015, 2018, and 2022 for AR/VR work.
Lowe's Innovation Labs firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Lowe's Innovation Labs
- Legal name
- Lowe's Innovation Labs
- Website
- https://lowesinnovationlabs.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2014
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- Lowe's Innovation Labs is the internal emerging-technology hub of Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE: LOW), developing AR/VR, AI, robotics, and spatial-computing prototypes such as the Style Studio for Apple Vision Pro, a ChatGPT Product Expert, an NVIDIA Omniverse Store Digital Twin, and LiDAR measurement tools deployed across Lowe's retail and digital channels.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Lowe's Innovation Labs industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Retail Innovation Technology
- NAICS
- Commercial and Service Industry Machinery Manufacturing (3333), Other Furniture Related Product Manufacturing (3379)
- SIC
- Laboratory Apparatus & Furniture (3821), Services-Testing Laboratories (8734), Wholesale-Computers & Peripheral Equipment & Software (5045)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Additive Manufacturing Research & Innovation Labs (IMAAAJAA)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Industrial & Warehouse Robotics (HDAAAIAA), Makerspace, Innovation Lab & Fab Lab Operations (Tools, Safety, Programming) (EDAEAGAI), Virtual Labs, Remote Labs & Hands-On Practice Tools (EDAFABAH), Simulation-Based Learning & Virtual Labs (EDAGAEAG)
Keywords
Where Lowe's Innovation Labs is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Kirkland
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
Lowe's Innovation Labs business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- Internal Innovation Unit: Lowe's Innovation Labs operates as an internal R&D/innovation hub for Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE: LOW), a Fortune 50 home improvement retailer. The Lab develops technology capabilities that enhance Lowe's customer experience, associate productivity, and operational efficiency. Revenue is not separately disclosed as the Labs functions within the broader Lowe's corporate structure.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Monthly | Lowe's Style Studio - Free download |
| Subscription | Monthly | Lowe's Product Expert - ChatGPT Plus integration |
| Freemium | Monthly | Measure Your Space - Free in Lowe's app |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels7 records
Marketing channels8 records
Lowe's Innovation Labs product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Lowe's Innovation Labs is the disruptive innovation hub of Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE: LOW), developing prototypes and proofs-of-concept across AI, spatial computing, AR/VR, robotics, IoT, and blockchain for home improvement retail. The Labs builds capabilities such as digital store twins, LiDAR-based measurement tools, custom GPTs, autonomous retail robots, and immersive AR/VR experiences that are deployed through Lowe's physical stores, mobile apps, and emerging platforms like Apple Vision Pro and ChatGPT.
Product overview
Lowe's Innovation Labs is the innovation hub of Fortune 50 retailer Lowe's, focused on accelerating the future of home improvement retail through emerging technologies. The portfolio consists of multiple experimental projects and prototypes across spatial computing, AI, robotics, and extended reality. Key products include: Lowe's Style Studio for Apple Vision Pro (spatial computing kitchen design), Lowe's Product Expert custom GPT (generative AI product recommendations), Store Digital Twin (AI-powered store simulation with NVIDIA Omniverse), and Measure Your Space (LiDAR-powered room measurement). Other notable explorations include Holoroom VR training experiences, Infinite Kitchen AR/VR prototypes, LoweBot autonomous robots, Associate Exosuits with Virginia Tech, and Project Unlock anti-theft technology using RFID and blockchain. Many products are pilots, proofs-of-concept, or retired experiments rather than broadly available commercial offerings.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- LoweBot: Autonomous retail service robot developed in partnership with Fellow Robots to assist customers and associates in stores.
- Measure Your Space
- Lowe's Open Builder
- Store Digital Twin
- Holoroom
- Infinite Kitchen
- Lowe's Style Studio
- Lowe's Product Expert
- Project Unlock
- Associate Exosuits
Products and services
- Lowe's Style Studio for Apple Vision Pro An end-to-end kitchen design application built exclusively for Apple Vision Pro, allowing users to explore and customize kitchen designs using nearly 80 billion combinations of real Lowe's products via visionOS gaze-and-tap gesture controls.
- Lowe's Product Expert: Custom GPT The first custom GPT for home improvement retail, combining ChatGPT's core language models with Lowe's product catalog to deliver shoppable product recommendations and DIY project guidance in natural language.
- Store Digital Twin Industry-first interactive digital replica of Lowe's physical stores, built with NVIDIA Omniverse, enabling associates to visualize store data, perform inventory X-ray vision, and optimize operations via Magic Leap 2 AR headsets or desktop.
- Infinite Kitchen Touch Virtual reality kitchen design prototype using HaptX haptic gloves that allow users to see, personalize, and physically feel virtual kitchen surfaces and appliances in VR.
- Infinite Kitchen AR Mobile AR kitchen visualization prototype co-developed with Google Cloud using Immersive Stream for XR, enabling high-fidelity kitchen designs in realtime on smartphones without specialized equipment.
- Measure Your Space LiDAR-powered end-to-end room scanning, measurement, and estimate experience in the Lowe's iOS app, using Apple RoomPlan and RealityKit to capture room dimensions, generate floor plans, and produce personalized flooring estimates.
- Lowe's Open Builder Free library of over 500 photorealistic 3D product assets available for download to developers building in virtual and augmented worlds, including NVIDIA Omniverse developers.
- View in Your Space Mobile AR feature in the Lowe's app that lets customers visualize products in their home environment using smartphone cameras, walking around virtual products to view them from multiple angles before purchase.
- Holoroom How To On-demand virtual reality DIY skills clinic and immersive training platform that teaches home improvement skills such as tiling showers via step-by-step VR simulations; first retail application of AR/VR for home improvement learning.
- Holoroom Test Drive In-store VR experience allowing customers to test drive Kobalt power tools in a virtual backyard setting using custom controllers that mimic real tool weight and feel with haptic feedback.
- Lowe's Holoroom Original virtual reality home improvement design and visualization prototype launched in 2014 in two Canadian stores, one of the first customer-facing retail experiences using Oculus Rift.
- LoweBot NAVii autonomous retail service robot developed with Fellow Robots, deployed in 11 San Francisco Bay Area stores to help customers find products, deliver promotions, and perform real-time inventory scanning.
- Associate Exosuits Soft robotic exoskeletons developed with Virginia Tech that assist retail associates with heavy lifting using carbon fiber rods that store and return energy to reduce muscle fatigue and injury risk.
- Project Unlock Retail theft deterrence platform that embeds RFID chips in power tools and uses blockchain-based purchase records so products remain inoperable until legitimately purchased and activated via POS RFID scanner.
- Lowe's Hologram Experience Mixed-reality experience built for Microsoft HoloLens that allows customers to view holographic kitchen designs, customize materials and appliances with gesture controls, and see life-sized visualizations in showroom kitchens.
- In-Store Navigation 2017 proof-of-concept AR navigation application using Google Tango hardware, providing indoor maps and directional prompts to guide customers through Lowe's stores.
Quantifiable outcome
- Multi-sensory VR improved unskilled DIYers to memory performance comparable to experienced DIYers in Holoroom How To studies.
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Lowe's Innovation Labs
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Lowe's Innovation Labs technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration11 records
AI capability13 records
Feature13 records
Lowe's Innovation Labs partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- OpenAI (ChatGPT)coreLowe's Product Expert is one of the first custom GPTs, built using OpenAI's Custom GPT platform. It augments ChatGPT's core models with Lowe's product catalog for shoppable product recommendations.
- HaptXHaptX provides microfluidic actuator haptic gloves that provide detailed tactile feedback to hands and fingers. Used in Infinite Kitchen Touch prototype to enable users to feel virtual kitchen surfaces, appliances, and materials in VR.
- ApplecoreLowe's Style Studio was built exclusively for Apple Vision Pro spatial computing platform. Labs worked with Apple to create a purpose-built kitchen design experience for visionOS using the device's gaze-and-tap gesture controls.
- NVIDIAcoreLowe's partnered with NVIDIA to build an industry-first interactive store digital twin using NVIDIA Omniverse Enterprise. NVIDIA's Omniverse platform enables Lowe's to create virtual replicas of stores that fuse spatial data with product location, historical order information, and IoT sensor data. Jensen Huang, NVIDIA CEO, commented on Lowe's pioneering retail digital twins.
- Omniverse Developers EcosystemminorLowe's announced it would make a selection of photorealistic 3D product assets from Lowe's Open Builder library available to NVIDIA Omniverse developers, expanding the ecosystem for builders of virtual and augmented worlds.
- Google CloudcoreLowe's Innovation Labs was among the first to use Google Cloud's Immersive Stream for XR platform for Infinite Kitchen AR. Google Cloud streams GB-level content to mobile devices in real time, making high-fidelity AR experiences available without special equipment.
- StreemcoreStreem is an AR and AI company whose mission is to make the world's expertise more accessible. Streem provides augmented video chat services and AR tools for Lowe's spatial commerce experiences. Measure Your Space BETA was developed by Lowe's Innovation Labs in partnership with Streem, building on their previous JobSIGHT partnership for Pros.
- Virginia Tech - Assistive Robotics LaboratorycoreLowe's partnered with Virginia Tech's Assistive Robotics Laboratory, led by Dr. Alan Asbeck, to develop soft robotic exosuits for retail associates. The partnership involved 8 graduate and undergraduate students designing and developing lift-assist technology for Lowe's stocking employees.
- Fellow RobotscoreFellow Robots, a Silicon Valley robotics company founded out of Singularity University, partnered with Lowe's Innovation Labs to develop NAVii autonomous retail service robots (LoweBot) for in-store customer navigation and inventory management. The partnership was initiated through SU Labs.
- SU Labs / Singularity UniversityminorSU Labs, a Singularity University program connecting corporate innovation teams with startups, initiated the partnership between Lowe's Innovation Labs and Fellow Robots to explore exponentially accelerating technologies in retail.
Scale indicators9 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Lowe's Innovation Labs competitors and assessment
Company assessmentEmerging players
- Houzz: Houzz's 3D home visualization (View in My Room) and AI design assistant stack. Comparable as a home-improvement/design product company focused on AR visualization and AI-assisted design flows that overlap with Infinite Kitchen, Style Studio and Measure Your Space.
Direct peers
- Walmart Tech (Walmart Global Tech): The internal technology organization of the world's largest retailer, with substantial investment in AR/VR store experiences, conversational AI and associate productivity tools. Comparable as a large retailer-owned R&D function working on many of the same emerging-tech categories as Lowe's Innovation Labs.
- SPACE10: IKEA's independent research and design lab exploring future home living through emerging technology, design and sustainability. Directly comparable as a retailer-funded innovation lab building proofs-of-concept on AI, spatial computing and AR/VR for the home category.
- HEB Digital / HEB Ventures: The digital and innovation function of H-E-B, a regional US grocer that has built notable in-house tech (telemedicine, inventory robotics, AR). Comparable as a mid-to-large retailer's internal R&D group with a similar emerging-tech exploration mandate.
- Home Depot Innovation / Pro Tech: The internal technology and innovation arm of Lowe's largest US competitor, investing in AR visualization, digital store tools and pros' workflow tech. Directly comparable as the home-improvement retailer's R&D function competing head-to-head for same customers.
- Target Tech / Target Circle: Target's technology and innovation function, including work on AR shopping, AI assistants and store digital tooling. Comparable as a large omnichannel retailer's internal R&D group advancing similar customer- and associate-facing emerging-tech experiences.
Others
- NVIDIA Omniverse: NVIDIA's Omniverse enterprise team is the technology partner behind Lowe's Store Digital Twin and Open Builder expansion. Comparable as the enabling technology platform, and as an adjacent ecosystem player shaping the spatial-computing roadmap that defines Labs' digital twin work.
- Apple Vision Pro team: Apple's spatial computing team responsible for visionOS and the Vision Pro hardware on which Lowe's Style Studio is built. Comparable as the platform enabler whose hardware traction and roadmap directly drive Labs' spatial commerce strategy and risk.
Broad incumbents
- Wayfair: Wayfair's AR visualization (View in Room) and AI shopping assistants in furniture and home. Comparable because Wayfair operates shopper-facing AR plus generative-AI shopping tooling in the same home-improvement vertical as Lowe's Innovation Labs.
- IKEA (Inter IKEA / IKEA Place): IKEA's broader company via Space10 and IKEA Place, the AR furniture-placement app. Comparable because IKEA is the canonical example of a home retailer with a public-facing AR visualization product that competes with Lowe's View in Your Space and Infinite Kitchen.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Lowe's Innovation Labs social profiles
Digital presenceLowe's Innovation Labs financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Lowe's Innovation Labs leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles5 records
Lowe's Innovation Labs funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Lowe's Innovation Labs M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Lowe's Innovation Labs
What does Lowe's Innovation Labs do?
Lowe's Innovation Labs is the disruptive innovation hub of Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE: LOW), developing prototypes and proofs-of-concept across AI, spatial computing, AR/VR, robotics, IoT, and blockchain for home improvement retail. The Labs builds capabilities such as digital store twins, LiDAR-based measurement tools, custom GPTs, autonomous retail robots, and immersive AR/VR experiences that are deployed through Lowe's physical stores, mobile apps, and emerging platforms like Apple Vision Pro and ChatGPT.
Is Lowe's Innovation Labs a public or private company?
Lowe's Innovation Labs is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was Lowe's Innovation Labs founded?
Lowe's Innovation Labs was founded in 2014. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Lowe's Innovation Labs based?
Lowe's Innovation Labs is headquartered in Kirkland, United States, in the North America region.
How does Lowe's Innovation Labs make money?
One revenue line is on record: internal Innovation Unit.
Who are Lowe's Innovation Labs's main competitors?
Houzz is listed as an emerging player. Direct peers are Walmart Tech (Walmart Global Tech), SPACE10, HEB Digital / HEB Ventures, Home Depot Innovation / Pro Tech and Target Tech / Target Circle. Others are NVIDIA Omniverse and Apple Vision Pro team. Broad incumbents are Wayfair and IKEA (Inter IKEA / IKEA Place).
Does Lowe's Innovation Labs have an API?
No public API is recorded for Lowe's Innovation Labs.
What industry is Lowe's Innovation Labs in?
Lowe's Innovation Labs's product category is Retail Innovation Technology. Its primary akta.pro industry code is IMAAAJAA, Additive Manufacturing Research & Innovation Labs, with a secondary code of HDAAAIAA, Industrial & Warehouse Robotics. Its NAICS code is 3333 and its SIC code is 3821.