A national housing shortage is straining finances and communities across the U.S. In Massachusetts, at least 222,000 homes will have to be built in the next 10 years to meet the population’s needs. At the same time, there are numerous challenges in traditional construction involving many contractors and subcontractors, adding complexity and lag time. There’s a shortage of skilled construction workers. And the construction process, as well as the buildings themselves, can be a major source of emissions that contribute to climate change.
Reframe Systems, cofounded by Vikas Enti SDM ’20, uses robotics, software, and high-performance materials to address these problems. Founded in 2022, the company deploys microfactories that bring housing fabrication and production closer to the regions where the homes are needed. The first homes designed and manufactured in Reframe’s first microfactory have been fully built in Arlington and Somerville, MA. Vikas’s experiences in MIT System Design and Management have shaped the company from its start. “Learning how to navigate the system and finding the optimal value for each stakeholder has been a key part of the business strategy,” he says, “and that’s rooted in what I learned at SDM.”
Better tools for system-level problems
Vikas applied to MIT SDM’s master’s in engineering and management while he was working at Kiva Systems, overseeing its acquisition by Amazon and transformation into Amazon Robotics. He found that the SDM program’s fundamentals of systems engineering, system architecture, and project management provided him with the tools he needed to address system-level problems in his work.
An interest in starting his own business also led Vikas to serve as an associate director for the MIT $100K Entrepreneurship Competition, which offers students and researchers mentorship, feedback, and potential funding for their startup ideas. It was an experience that still serves him today. “The biggest thing for me was realizing there isn’t a single formula for how businesses start or how long it takes to get them started,” he says.
Vikas took a leave of absence from SDM to oversee the expansion of Amazon Robotics in Europe. He returned and completed his degree in 2020, writing his thesis on roadmapping technology that could mitigate falls for elderly people. This instinct to use his MIT education for a good cause resurfaced when his daughters were born. He wanted his future business to address a real-world problem and have a social impact, while also reducing carbon emissions.
Growing housing, shrinking emissions
Vikas concluded that housing – with immediate real-world impact and a significant share of global carbon emissions – was the right problem to solve. He reached out to his colleagues Aaron Small and Felipe Polido from Amazon Robotics to share his idea for advanced, low-cost factories that could be deployed quickly and close to where they were needed. The two joined him as co-founders.
Currently, the microfactory in Andover, MA produces structural panels, with robotics completing wall and ceiling framing and people completing the rest of the work, including wiring and plumbing. Eventually Reframe hopes to automate more of the building process through further use of robotics. The modular construction process allows for reduced waste and disruption on the eventual home site. And the finished homes are designed to be energy-efficient and ready for solar panel installation. The company is set to start work soon on a group of homes in Devens, MA.
In addition to the Andover location, Reframe is setting up in southern California to help rebuild homes that were destroyed in the January 2025 wildfires. The company’s software-assisted design process and the adjustability of the microfactories allows them to meet local zoning and building codes and align with the local architectural aesthetic. In Somerville, Reframe’s completed buildings look like modernized versions of the neighboring three-story buildings, known locally as “triple-deckers.” On the other side of the country, Reframe’s design offerings include Spanish-style and craftsman homes.
“Housing is a complex systems problem,” Vikas says, explaining the impact SDM has had on his work at Reframe. The integrated core class, EM.412 Foundations of System Design and Management, teaches methods and tools to tackle systems-level problems, taking the needs of multiple stakeholders into account. The Reframe team used technology roadmapping as they devised their overall business plan, inspired by the work of Olivier de Weck, associate head of MIT’s department of aeronautics and astronautics.
Vikas also recalled lectures from Bryan Moser, SDM’s academic director, on project management that remain relevant. “Embracing the fact that this is a systems problem, and learning how to navigate the system and the stakeholders to make sure we’re finding the optimal value, has been a key part of the business strategy,” he says.
Reframe Systems is set to continue learning through iteration, another hallmark of the SDM curriculum, as they plan to expand their network of microfactories. The company remains committed to the core vision of sustainably meeting the country’s need for more housing. “I’m grateful we get to do this,” Vikas says. “Once you strip away all the robotics, the advanced algorithms, and the factories, these are high-quality, healthy homes that families get to live in and grow. That closes the loop all the way back to why this matters.”
