(By Laura Smythe  –  Reporter, Philadelphia Business Journal)

An autonomous table tennis facility that operates without any workers will set up shop in Philadelphia’s Old City neighborhood.

New York-based startup Pingpod is taking over the former Cosi coffee shop location at 325 Chestnut St. The company, which launched in 2019 and opened its first location on the Lower East Side in 2020, aims to make table tennis more accessible in cities via a scalable “smaller format” model that keeps buildout and operating costs low, said Cofounder David Silberman.

Pingpod locations — called “pods” — offer up to six pingpong tables, which guests reserve online by creating an account and entering credit card information. Reservation allotments begin at 30 minutes and can go for as many hours as are available. An invitation link is sent to a customer’s phone that enables them to unlock the door to the facility.

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