Over the course of his career, Vikas Enti had helped deploy nearly half a million robots around the world, acquiring the technical credibility, the deep systems thinking, and the expertise that most founders only dream of.
But when his twin daughters were born, he asked himself a clarifying question: What would they be proud of when they looked back on his career?
The answer wasn't robots in warehouses, but homes; built affordably, fast and right, in a way that didn't bankrupt the families who needed them.
The Problem: 300 Days, 25 Subcontractors, One House
Today, home construction follows a pretty familiar formula across jurisdictions: A homeowner gets a permit, then 25 different subcontractors show up over 90 to 500+ days. The process is serialized because gravity dictates the order—you have to build the floor before the walls, the walls before the ceiling.
Everything is weather-dependent and hinges on inspectors' timelines. Even more frustrating is the fact that every project essentially becomes a prototype, even when it's the hundredth house that builder has made.
Meanwhile, in Boston, a triple-decker costs $300-400 per square foot. In LA, it's twice that. The housing shortage is already here, and the current system can't solve it.
Vikas looked at this and saw not a construction problem, but a systems problem. And he asked a question that changed everything: What if you decouple the process from the job site?
The Solution: Bend Gravity
What Reframe Systems did was to simply build a better factory for housing.
Importantly, this is not the kind of home factory that's existed since the 1960s. Those factories cost $30-50 million, take up 300,000 to 500,000 square feet, and take 2-3 years to deploy. They're so expensive that the fixed costs get pushed onto the customer, making delivery faster for a product that's not any cheaper.
Reframe's microfactories, however, are designed to be no larger than the garden center at a Home Depot. They cost less than $5 million, deploy in less than 100 days, and because they're decoupled from the job site, you can build ceilings and walls before floors, enabling builders to parallelize work that's impossible on a traditional build site.
The proof points are striking: Reframe built their first Somerville triple-decker in 180 days. The second one: 150 days. Their 12th home in Devens? They're projecting 55 days from foundation to completion.
And they're doing it 20% below market cost.
"Faster is cheaper," Vikas said. And he's proven it.
The Technology: Worker Augmentation + Software-Driven Design
Reframe has built computational design software that handles zoning reconciliation automatically. You design a triple-decker for Somerville, Massachusetts, for instance, and the software knows the zoning differences between this city and neighboring municipalities, recommending the exact window ratio changes needed to stay compliant. Design becomes a software process rather than a years-long back-and-forth with local government.
Then there's worker augmentation. Reframe's team includes roboticists, architects, carpenters, and software developers who have built systems that let generalist workers (high school co-ops, rough carpenters) do highly specialized tasks like wiring, plumbing, and HVAC. Their proprietary robots handle 20% of the work today, with a roadmap to 80-90% over time.
This is exactly the kind of technological uncertainty that R&D tax credit programs exist to fund.
Reframe is not just applying off-the-shelf solutions, but rethinking how housing gets built, combining software, robotics, and worker training in ways that haven't been done before. They're tackling a problem where the government has a clear interest in seeing a win: Housing affordability is a crisis, and carbon reduction is a mandate.
The Real Impact: Boston to Altadena to the Nation
Reframe has already proven this works in the real world. In Somerville, they're building triple-deckers for developers, while work has commenced on single-family homes and even a 5-story apartment building elsewhere in Massachusetts.
But the most compelling proof came after the Altadena wildfires in California. Families who lost everything to the flames came to Reframe. One homeowner was fortuante engouhg to get keys to a home in three months rather than years of rebuilding, contractors fighting over schedules, and handling mortgage payments while they're still displaced.
That's the power of speed-as-efficiency, and what conviction looks like when it meets systems thinking.
Why This Matters: Non-Dilutive Funding for R&D
Here's the connection to innovation funding that most companies get wrong:
Reframe Systems is tackling a problem the government desperately wants to solve, embarking on high-risk R&D in the process, which is exactly what non-dilutive funding exists to support.
In the United States: Companies developing new construction processes, robotics, and manufacturing systems qualify for the federal Section 41 R&D credit. Reframe's work on worker augmentation systems, proprietary robotics, and computational design software all have the potential to qualify. With 2,000+ companies across North America already accessing $900M+ in R&D tax credits through programs like Boast, there's a proven path to funding this kind of innovation without diluting equity.
In Canada: With SR&ED enhancements now law (Bill C-15, Royal Assent March 26, 2026), companies building manufacturing solutions can claim up to $6 million in annual eligible expenditures, with up to $2.1 million in maximum refundable federal credits. Capital equipment for factory setup is now eligible again. For a company like Reframe scaling operations into Canada, that's meaningful capital to reinvest into R&D.
The math is simple: When you combine venture capital with strategic use of R&D tax credits, you extend runway to fund more product development, iterate faster, and get to proof of concept before running out of money.
What's Next
Reframe's launching their first production-scale facility this year (still in Massachusetts, location TBD). They're targeting 100 homes in the ground by mid-2027. Their long-term vision: 400-600 microfactories across the country, each no larger than a Home Depot garden center, each capable of delivering homes at scale.
Listen to the full episode to hear Vikas's complete journey—from robotics at Amazon to asking the question that led to Reframe, and why conviction matters more than you might think.
About What the Tech from Boast.AI
What the Tech features conversations with brilliant minds building transformative solutions. Hosted by Paul Davenport, Boast's Head of Content.
Learn More About Reframe Systems
If you're interested in affordable housing, modular construction, or the future of manufacturing, visit Reframe Systems.
Learn More About R&D Tax Credits for Manufacturing & Construction Tech
Since 2011, Boast has helped 2,000+ companies across North America access $900M+ in non-dilutive R&D tax credits. We specialize in helping manufacturing, construction, and hardware companies maximize government funding for product development.
If you're building hardware, robotics, or manufacturing solutions (whether for housing, construction, or any industry) non-dilutive government funding is part of your capital stack. Let's ensure you're not leaving money on the table.
Ready to fund your R&D with strategy, not just venture capital?
