SAN FRANCISCO — Sean Donovan filed a lawsuit on May 26, 2026, in San Francisco Superior Court against The Bot Company, seeking more than $12,000 in damages. The suit alleges the robotics startup rented Donovan’s home in San Francisco’s Portola neighborhood through Airbnb in April 2026 without disclosing it would be used for robotic prototype testing.
According to court filings, the approximately two-week rental brought more than 30 people in and out of the Silliman Street property. Donovan claims the booking was made by a guest who stated that remote workers from Thailand would be staying there, but his Ring camera recorded audio of individuals discussing shift schedules and commuting between the East Bay and San Francisco.
Donovan told SFGate he saw “bundles of wires” throughout the house and a robot he described as a 6-foot-tall “Roomba with treads” resembling the cybernetic Borg from Star Trek.
The lawsuit alleges physical damage including scratches and water marks on an antique family heirloom dining room table, paint and floor damage, a damaged kitchen doorframe, bent poles in dishwasher racks, scratches on wooden credenzas and a laundry washer, a broken living room coffee table, and shattered laser-cut art. Cabinets and drawers were emptied and relocated, while books and decorative items were moved from shelves into drawers, the complaint states. A shoe rack and a pair of shoes were also missing from a locked bedroom closet, which the lawsuit describes as “potentially a criminal matter.” Donovan says he believes actual damages total closer to $22,000 but lowered his claim to $12,383.50 in “good faith.” The lawsuit further alleges The Bot Company deceptively booked the property as a short-term residential rental rather than for commercial use or filming.
The Bot Company was founded in 2024 by Kyle Vogt and Paril Jain. Vogt co-founded Twitch and Cruise Automation, later acquired by General Motors, while Jain spent over nine years at Tesla as an AI manager. The company, which states its mission as “building a helpful robot for every home,” has received backing from venture capital firms including Greenoaks, NFDG, Spark, Eclipse, Kleiner Perkins, and Y Combinator. PitchBook reports the company has raised more than $300 million.