It’s the DEATH of Co Working Spaces

The coworking world has seen its fair share of high-wire acts, the latest being WeWork's swan dive into bankruptcy—a spectacle as mesmerising as it is cautionary. Sam Altman's OpenAI, though, may have just dealt the deck a card of salvation. It's a quirky twist, the kind that would have appealed to a culinary maverick turned raconteur. But this isn't about kitchens or bistros; it's about the hard, gritty pavements of real estate and technology intersecting at a crossroads that could very well redefine the urban workplace landscape.

In the boom-bust dot com era in the early dawn of the 2000s, Regus (now IWG PLC) stood on the precipice of a similar fate, teetering on the brink of collapse. Yet, like a phoenix, it rose from the ashes, not by reinventing itself but by sheer tenacity. It's a phenomenon that puzzles the pundits in their high towers: Why did a model, so clearly flawed, endure?

Rent out this space in Shoreditch for you and your team. It’s a beauty by Our Friends In London.

Enter AI, the cool new kid on the block, swaggering into a scene of corporate dinosaurs and faded lease agreements. It's the wildcard that could transform the antiquated business model of coworking spaces from a clunky cassette tape to a seamlessly streaming service. Imagine landlords, no longer pawns in a game controlled by brokerage kings, but free agents in their own right, steering their ships with AI as their North Star.

The kitchen space in Our Friends In London’s office in Shoreditch.

But what about the gimmicks, the paid referrals that scream of desperation from the rooftops of these old-school marketplaces? It's a sign, perhaps, that coworking has come of age—it's not just a service but a consumer product, a personal statement, a lifestyle choice.

And in this brave new world, it's not just about being shared, affordable, or even enjoyable—though those are part of the equation. It's about the experience, the personal touch, and that's where AI comes into play. It's the behind-the-scenes maestro, conducting an orchestra of data to deliver a symphony of personalised experiences. It's hyper-personalisation on a grand scale, the kind that seeps into every facet of our lives, from the ads we see to the news we read, and now, the offices we inhabit.

One of our beautiful offices in Shoreditch.

If the 20th century was the era of mass consumption, the 21st is the era of the bespoke, the tailored, the individual. The office space is no longer a commodity; it's a signature, a brand, an experience tailored to the individual consumer. And as the market fragments into a kaleidoscope of brands, each catering to a unique segment, coworking spaces must adapt or risk obsolescence.

This isn't about algorithms and automation stripping the soul from the hustle and bustle of coworking life. Rather, it's about those very technologies enhancing and amplifying our human desire to connect, create, and collaborate. It's about AI not as a cold, calculating machine, but as a tool that, in the right hands, can cultivate community, culture, and a new creed of coworking spaces that are as diverse and dynamic as the people who populate them.

So, here's to the landlords, the visionaries, the rebels, and the pioneers who see AI not as a threat but as the ultimate ally in the quest to redefine the world of work. In the spirit of the great raconteurs, let's watch as they use this tool to write the next chapter of the coworking narrative—one that promises to be as bold and as exciting as any tale ever told. And maybe, just maybe, coworking as we know it is a thing of the past, a prelude to the dawn of platforms like www.nohq.co.uk, heralding the start of something new, something seamless—a future where the workspace conforms to us, not the other way around.

Written by Sanj Mahal, CEO of NO HQ.