The affordability and accessibility of homes are not improving, with median household income for home buyers increasing from $88,000 to $107,000 this year, according to the National Association of Realtors. The U.S. is experiencing a record-low volume of homes for sale, and this trend shows no signs of recovery.
While some may view the rising prices and diminishing supply of homes as positive, potentially encouraging families to adopt more environmentally friendly alternatives, startups like BotBuilt argue that technology can be harnessed to reduce costs and mitigate negative impacts in homebuilding.
BotBuilt, founded by Brent Wadas, Colin Devine, and robotics engineer Barrett Ames in 2020, aims to create a robotic system capable of interpreting building plans, translating them into machine commands, and executing these commands through the robotic system. Ames, inspired by personal experience as a graduate student, highlights the challenges and patterns observed in construction during a home renovation project.
The housing industry faces a significant shortage, and builders are under pressure to address the demand for new housing. BotBuilt focuses on a specific aspect of homebuilding—the construction of framing. Their robotic system assembles panels for walls, floor trusses, and roof trusses, major components of home framing. Ames emphasizes the flexibility of their robotic systems, allowing quick reprogramming for different frame designs.
By automating the framing process, BotBuilt believes it can accelerate the pace of homebuilding while reducing costs. Typically, house framing costs range from $7 to $16 per square foot, with framing taking about a month, subject to delays from factors like weather and labor shortages.
BotBuilt operates robot-equipped factories, providing services to homebuilders rather than selling the frame-building system directly. The company aims to empower builders by increasing volume and margin through affordable robotic labor. Ames acknowledges competitors in the robotics homebuilding space but emphasizes BotBuilt’s advantages in flexibility.
Although BotBuilt has built only nine homes so far, with revenue around $75,000, Ames anticipates a ramp-up in 2024. The company plans to ship trusses built by its robotics while scaling general operations. To support expansion, BotBuilt has raised $12.4 million in seed funding, with investors including Ambassador Supply, Y Combinator, Owens Corning, and Shadow Ventures. The funding will be used to grow the team and advance the company’s mission in Durham, North Carolina.
