Research
Independent research funded by every order.
Founder Lab exists to support independent research into the future of e-commerce.
Every purchase helps us collect data, build datasets and publish open research through Atom Foundry.
Our goal is simple.
Understand how AI is changing commerce and openly share what we learn.
Featured Research
★ The State of AI Recommendations Across Commerce 2026
Our flagship study.
20,000 AI-generated recommendations analyzed across five industries and matched to the real stores behind 1,490 brands.
One replicated result.
AI Recommends by Fame, Not Store Quality
The Fame Study.
We measured what actually separates the brands AI consistently recommends from those it ignores.
Public fame explains far more than store quality, but it still doesn't explain everything.
Recommendation Intelligence™ Series
A collection of category-specific studies exploring how AI recommends brands across different industries.
• Beauty
• Supplements
• Coffee
• Pets
• Home & Living
Current Research
Today we're exploring:
• AI Commerce Intelligence™
• Recommendation Intelligence™
• AI Commerce Graph™
• Agentic Commerce
• AI Shopping Behavior
• Conversion Intelligence
Every new order helps move this research forward.
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Founder Lab exists to help fund independent research.
Atom Foundry turns that research into public reports, datasets and tools for the future of commerce.
Building something from nothing.
Research starts with curiosity.
Progress starts with builders.