附近上门

If Amazon runs out of homes to deliver to, its latest investment could just build some more.

Home design and prefabrication startup has raised a $6.7 million Series A funding round that included participation from the and . A large, unnamed multi-billion private equity fund led the round.

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Plant Prefab manufactures custom single and multi-family homes using off-site production, non-toxic and sustainable building materials, and a patented building system

The investment marks Amazon鈥檚 first in a home prefabrication company, according to the Rialto, Calif.-based startup. 1

The two-year-old startup will use the money toward some new senior hires and building out its marketing and sales team. Plant Prefab currently has 35 employees. The company also plans to use the funds to further develop its patented plant building system and expand its factory operations.

Plant Prefab claims that its approach to building homes reduces construction time by 50 percent and cost by 10 to 25 percent in major cities, while also minimizing the negative impact on energy, water, resources and indoor air quality.

Plant Prefab Founder and CEO 聽said that in 鈥渉ousing-crunched鈥� major cities such as Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco, along with areas like Silicon Valley, it takes too much time to build a home to be able to adequately meet demand.

鈥淟abor shortages, construction delays, and increased construction costs are exacerbating this trend even further — and making homes increasingly less affordable,鈥� he said in a written statement. 鈥淏uilding homes in factories addresses these challenges, particularly as we鈥檙e able integrate online technology, new building systems, and automation to dramatically reduce the time and cost necessary to design and build high-quality, custom homes.鈥�

The prices of the homes vary based on the specific project and its requirements, Glenn told 附近上门 News. He said the current range of projects it has completed to date is $152 to $225 per square foot.

鈥淭his is the price for the modules from the factory and does not include site costs or transport and install, which we don鈥檛 yet do,鈥� he told 附近上门 News. 鈥淐omplete project budgets range from $275 to more than $500 a square foot. We deliver in half the time of a typical site-based construction process.鈥�

Glenn said that Plant Prefab is addressing the urban home market, unlike most existing prefabrication companies in the US that are focused on building homes for suburban communities.

鈥淏y building in an all-weather facility with lower cost and staff labor, we offer clients a more reliable, time and cost-effective alternative to local, urban general contractors,鈥� he added.

In recent months, Plant Prefab has installed 26 units in California and Utah as well as built out a multifamily project in Berkeley. The company has also been helping victims of the 2017 Napa-area wildfires overcome severe contractor shortages due to the wildfire aftermath.

The company was introduced to Amazon by Obvious Ventures during the funding process, according to Glenn.

, director of the Alexa Fund, in a written statement, described Plant Prefab as 鈥渁 leader in home design and an emerging, innovative player in home manufacturing.鈥�

鈥淲e鈥檙e thrilled to support them as they make sustainable, connected homes more accessible to customers and developers,鈥� he added.

, managing director of Obvious Ventures, said his firm believes that Plant Prefab is focused on 鈥渄ramatically improving efficiencies and environmental responsibility鈥� in the multi-billion dollar market for new homes in the US.

鈥淲ith increased costs, labor shortages, reduced affordability, and the enormous impact housing has on carbon emissions, there are few challenges more important than creating more accessible, healthy housing,鈥� he added, in a written statement.