Reframe Systems, a start-up utilizing physical AI to tackle the housing crisis, has raised $20 million in Series A funding 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.
The company was founded by former Amazon Robotics leaders Vikas Enti, Felipe Polido, and Aaron Small who scaled some of the most advanced automation systems in the world, deploying over 500,000 robots across Amazon’s fulfillment network.
Now, they are bringing that expertise to home construction – one of the last industries still dependent on fragmented, outdated, manual processes.
In their local microfactories, Reframe is building a diversity of missing-middle housing types: single-family homes, duplexes, townhomes, and small multifamily. The microfactories are using proprietary software and robotics to reduce the time it takes to build attainable homes while reducing costs by 35 percent.
The process harnesses the power of software and robotics to drastically shorten construction timelines while addressing critical labor shortages in the housing industry.
Physical AI meets homebuilding
Kareem Dabbagh, managing partner at VoLo Earth Ventures, says: “We’re at an inflection point where advancements in AI, robotics, and software are converging to transform industries that have resisted change for centuries.
“Reframe has engineered a system that brings these capabilities together to address two of the most urgent challenges of our time, climate change and housing shortage, in a way that is practical, scalable, cost-effective, and ready to deploy today. It’s a blueprint for how physical AI can bridge the gap between innovation and real-world impact.”
Despite decades of warnings from experts, the US has an estimated 4.5 million-home shortage. This problem is exacerbated by a shortage of 500,000 workers in the construction industry and developers spending the last decade building high-end housing over attainable housing.
The industry relies on centuries-old manual processes, making homebuilding expensive, inefficient, and unable to meet demand.
Charly Mwangi, partner at Eclipse, says: “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.”
Mass customization, factory precision
Reframe Systems applies the same principles that transformed e-commerce fulfillment to home construction. Unlike traditional, labor-intensive processes, Reframe’s network of AI-driven regional microfactories is deployable in 100 days and can manufacture five single-family homes per week by:
- Enabling mass-customization at scale; homes are site-customized for local codes and conditions using Reframe’s proprietary pixels to parts software
- Automating framing, sheathing, and insulation with proprietary vision-guided robots
- Augmenting apprentices and builders with material marking and iPad instructions for complex workflows
The result: Factory-grade precision, built to local zoning requirements, while delivering resilient homes that are all-electric, solar-ready, and designed to meet strict fire-resilience codes, including ember-resistant vents and non-combustible materials.
Vikas Enti, CEO and co-founder of Reframe Systems, says: “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.
“Because the system works the same way in every location, we can stand up new microfactories quickly and replicate that adaptability at scale, bringing precision-built, site-customized homes to communities across the country.”
‘One million homes by 2045’
Reframe is on a mission to unlock resilient homes for everyone with a goal to build one million homes worldwide by 2045, applying its microfactory model to deliver resilient, site-customized housing in every market where speed, adaptability, and climate-ready construction are needed most.
Reframe’s momentum is accelerating in the Boston area with two three-story homes in progress in Somerville, marking a major milestone for the company’s vision in an urban market.
The company is on track to build 20 housing units across two multi-family units in Somerville, Massachusetts, 12 single-family units in Devens, MA, a tiny home in Woburn, MA, and a bungalow in Altadena, California.
Reframe now has its sights set on a microfactory in Southern California, aiming to address both the region’s growing housing shortage and the devastation caused by recent wildfires.
