Reframe Systems, a microfactory modular builder, wins Ivory Prize for construction and design
Reframe Systems has been named the winner of the 2025 Ivory Prize in the category of construction and design. Since 2019, the annual award has recognized innovative, feasible, and scalable solutions to advance housing affordability.
Reframe’s network of microfactories localize and automate the construction of climate-resilient, modular homes. By producing its homes regionally, Reframe minimizes supply chain delays, labor shortages, and emissions. The startup says that, compared to traditional building methods, it builds homes 2.5 times faster, at 35% lower cost, and with 10 times fewer carbon emissions.
“Solving the housing crisis requires not just more construction, but better, smarter construction,” Vikas Enti, Cofounder and CEO of Reframe, said in a statement. “By integrating AI, robotics, and localized production, we’re rethinking how homes are built. Reframe’s approach not only makes building faster and more affordable, but also produces homes that perform to meet the needs of today’s communities.”
Reframe sets up each of its microfactories in 100 days. The company uses panel-building robotics and a proprietary software platform to make construction precise and predictable.
Founded by former Amazon Robotics executives in 2022, Reframe is now serving projects across New England, with expansion underway in wildfire-hit areas of Southern California.
“None of us have a background in construction. There is definitely something to be said for coming at a problem with fresh eyes,” Aaron Small, Reframe Cofounder and Head of Operations, said in a video on the Ivory Prize site.
The three Ivory Prize winners—which also include Grounded Solutions Network in the finance category and the State of Florida and the Florida Housing Coalition in the policy and regulatory reform category—were selected from 283 nominations and 25 finalists.
Presented by Ivory Innovations, a nonprofit based at the University of Utah’s David Eccles School of Business, the Ivory Prize awarded a total of $300,000 across the three categories.