Reframe Systems' 900-square-foot accessory dwelling unit includes all-electric heat pumps and Passive House building techniques. Image courtesy of Reframe Systems
Andover-based housing startup Reframe Systems announced Tuesday that it’s raised $20 million to build a series of “microfactories” to crank out modular buildings like ADUs and three-deckers.
Reframe said in its announcement the money came from a series A financing round co-led by Eclipse and VoLo Earth Ventures with support from MassMutual Catalyst Funds, Cubit Capital, Planetary Health at RA Capital Management, Saga Ventures, and Nor’easter Ventures.
By using robots to automate parts of the construction process and building many parts off-site, the company’s leaders think they undercut the region’s very high construction costs and scarce construction labor enough to provide 1 million new housing units of all types over the next 20 years.
Reframe’s robots augment apprentices and builders for tasks like framing, insulation, sheeting and drywalling. In an interview with Banker & Tradesman last year, CEO Vikas Enti said one of its ADU designs can be built with only five people, compared to the eight needed for traditional techniques.
Those ADUs run between $300,000 to $350,000 for an unit of 900 to 1,000 square feet, with costs scaling $275 to $300 per square foot for its larger net-zero, Passive House designs.
“The construction industry doesn’t have a building problem — it has an execution problem. Reframe Systems is turning construction from an unpredictable craft into a reliable, scalable process. With proprietary software and a network of automated Microfactories powered by Physical AI and robotics, Reframe Systems delivers projects on time, on budget, and at an affordable price — every time and everywhere,” Charly Mwangi, partner at Eclipse, said in a statement.
The company was founded by ex-Amazon Robotics employees Enti, Felipe Polido and Aaron Small, and operates out of a proof-of-concept facility with capacity to build 50 dwellings per year. Its designs are intended to be used to build ADUs, single-family homes, duplexes, townhomes and small multifamily buildings.
The company said it currently has two three-story homes “in progress” in Somerville, and is “on track” to build 20 units across two developments in that city, plus 12 single-family homes in Devens, an ADU in Woburn and a bungalow in Altadena, California.
The “microfactories” the company plans to build with its new funding can be set up in 100 days and will have a capacity of five homes per week, Reframe’s announcement said, and can build customized designs. The company said aims to build its next microfactory in Southern California, with an eye towards filling demand created by when wildfires destroyed several Los Angeles neighborhoods in January.
“Most modular builders are set up like car factories, producing one product the same way and shipping it everywhere. Our microfactories flip that model. We can adapt a design for the local code, climate, and even neighborhood style in minutes without adding cost or time, whether it’s a triple-decker or a single-family home,” Enti said in a statement.
A graphic provided by Reframe Systems shows a hypothetical version of a “microfactory” for building modular housing. Image courtesy of Reframe Systems
