Ex-Google Robotics Team Creates a WeWork That’s Not ‘Too Cool’

Randy Stowell used to control huge, hulking robots. His startup Bot & Dolly rigged 7-foot-tall industrial machines with swiveling arms and cameras to film commercials and movies. The robots helped make Sandra Bullock appear to float in space in the film Gravity. In 2013, Google bought Bot & Dolly and another startup Stowell co-founded as part of a robotics shopping spree, an effort that has since begun to fizzle. Since then, Stowell and about a half-dozen colleagues have left to try their hand at something a bit less futuristic: co-working spaces with in-house meditation and a bevy of snack options, including chia pudding and beet dip.

Their startup Mod, which Randy runs with his brother Brian Stowell, has been quietly testing an office of the near-future in Phoenix. It plans to open a second location in San Francisco on Monday. The company hopes to elbow its way into the much-hyped co-working industry, dominated by the $16 billion startup WeWork Cos., by catering to a professional who wants the finer touches in a shared office space: design-forward furniture, daily guided meditation, curated healthful nibbles, and on-site concierge services.