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If you have ever watched a new build drag on for months, balloon in price, and still feel like a custom prototype at the end, you already know the real problem with housing: the process does not scale. Today we sit down with Vikas Enti, CEO and co-founder of Reframe Systems, to talk about a different model for construction, one that borrows lessons from robotics, systems engineering, and manufacturing to make housing faster, cheaper, and more predictable.

Vikas helped lead major deployments at Amazon Robotics after the Kiva acquisition, and he brings that “complex systems” mindset to one of the most stubborn industries in America. We dig into why jobsite construction stays serialized and weather-dependent, and how Reframe’s low-cost modular microfactories change the equation by decoupling work from the site. He explains the idea of “bending gravity” inside the factory, how worker augmentation enables generalists to do skilled tasks, and why their robotics roadmap is designed to raise automation without the price tag of traditional industrial systems.

We also get concrete about where this matters most: infill development in existing neighborhoods, where zoning differences and approval friction can make costs spike to $300 to $400 per square foot. Vikas walks through how computational design and software-driven engineering support mass customization across municipalities, plus what they are learning from projects in Massachusetts and from wildfire rebuild work in Altadena. Finally, we talk team building, vertical integration, and what is coming next: a production-scale facility, a five-story apartment building, and an aggressive push toward higher volume.

If you care about construction technology, affordable housing, low-carbon homes, modular building, or the future of factory-built housing, this one is for you. Subscribe for more conversations with builders and technologists, share this with a friend who debates housing policy, and leave a review with your biggest question about scaling microfactories.

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Intro and Outro music provided by Dennis Ma whose mixes you can find on Soundcloud at DJ DennyDex.