Koto

Koto is a developer and designer of prefabricated houses. The company designs and crafts houses and cabins and offers services for quality bespoke architectural commissions.

<div><p>Based in the UK, Koto is a developer of prefabricated single-family residential units and accessory dwelling units (ADUs). The company currently operates in the UK, Europe, and in the US through manufacturing partnerships with prefab developers Plant Prefab and Abodu, which manufacture housing units in the US on behalf of Koto. In addition, the company counts more than 25 companies including Habitat First Group, Slow Cabins, and Scandinavian Design Group as its clients/partners.</p></div>

Revolutionizing construction with sustainable practices to build faster

Prefab Tech

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  <p>
    Based in the UK, Koto is a developer of prefabricated single-family residential units and accessory dwelling units (ADUs). The company currently operates in the UK, Europe, and in the US through manufacturing partnerships with prefab developers Plant Prefab and Abodu, which manufacture housing units in the US on behalf of Koto. In addition, the company counts more than 25 companies including Habitat First Group, Slow Cabins, and Scandinavian Design Group as its clients/partners.
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    Koto offers three types of pre-designed houses; Piha, Sora, and Yksi, with prices ranging from GBP 200,000&ndash;400,000 (approximately USD 265,000&ndash;530,000) depending on the size (ranging from 1,100&ndash;2,184 square feet) and number of bedrooms (2&ndash;4). Customers can also choose customized designs depending on the budget and preference. The company also offers cabin type houses (also known as ADUs). Koto houses are made of locally sourced sustainable materials including timber, and the houses are developed to maximize the use of natural resources such as lighting.
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    In December 2021, Koto introduced two-story single-family residential units dubbed &ldquo;Falcon House&rdquo;. These houses, made of two stacked units, are different from a traditional house layout as more private areas, such as bedrooms, are located on the ground floor, with living and entertaining areas located upstairs to optimize the surrounding views. 
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    Blokable offers vertically integrated modular residential units, both single-family and multifamily, including retail spaces and community spaces on the ground floor. The company, based in Seattle, has two manufacturing facilities in Washington and California. The company constructed a vertically integrated modular housing development in Washington in January 2021, which the company reports was half the average house construction cost. Blokable houses are marketed as sustainable, as they can be built to generate net-zero energy and use fewer resources with lower build costs compared to stick-built houses as well as low maintenance costs.
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    The company uses its proprietary Vertically Integrated Modular (VIM) platform to develop low-cost housing at scale by streamlining the entire development process to eliminate unnecessary costs. The platform uses integrated building information modeling (BIM) and enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems to simplify the planning as well as product specifications. It also uses pre-approved 3D components for improved certainty of costs and better quality control. Around 95% of the modular components are assembled in the manufacturing facility before being transported to the construction site. These houses also come with smart home features such as temperature control and smart lighting solutions.&nbsp;
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    In August 2019, the company raised USD 23 million in Series A funding, bringing its total funding to USD 30.4 million.
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Blokable

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    Based in San Diego, California, Dvele is a developer of prefab single-family housing units. The company does most of its business in the Western US and ships to all US states except for Alaska and Hawaii. Customers can provide their own home design or choose from a range of pre-designed homes that can be customized based on preference.&nbsp;
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    Dvele houses are developed based on sustainability and efficiency. Dvele uses sustainable high-quality materials that help reduce waste and improve durability by minimizing air leakage and moisture build-up. This in turn improves energy efficiency. Dvele houses are also equipped with solar power generation and battery storage facilities, along with energy-efficient water heaters and induction stovetops. It also incorporates DveleIQ, a software launched in November 2020, which uses more than 300 sensors within the house to monitor energy usage, air quality, etc., and alerts homeowners if an issue is detected. The price of a Dvele home ranges from USD 150,000 to USD 670,000.&nbsp;
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    Meanwhile, Dvele acquired Hallmark-Southwest (in 2018), a prefab factory running for 40 years, to serve as the company&rsquo;s west coast building facility, developing most of its houses, and one of its innovation centers. In May 2020, Dvele also acquired Blu Homes, a developer of luxury prefab homes that uses proprietary technology to create personalized 3D home designs.&nbsp;
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    <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/22150">
      <u>In September 2023</u>
    </a>
    , Dvele announced the construction of two new manufacturing facilities in Monterrey, Mexico, and the US (undisclosed location) to increase production of its self-powered homes to combat and address the housing crisis.&nbsp;
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  <p>
    <b>Funding and financials</b>
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    In March 2019, Dvele raised USD 14 million in Series A funding from Crescent Real Estate. The funds were used to introduce software, adopt lean manufacturing techniques, and increase focus on developing more energy-efficient houses. In December 2021, the company partnered with Green Builder Media, a North American media company focused on green building and sustainable living, to introduce a new co-branded housing line named &ldquo;Transcend by Dvele&rdquo; in spring 2022. The two companies aim to combine Dvele's technology with Green Builder Media's network of builders, designers, and manufacturers to create multi-home developments across California, Colorado, Montana, and New Mexico.
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Dvele

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    haus.me develops fully autonomous mobile houses that are self-sustainable. Its prefabricated houses, which use 3D printing technology for manufacturing, are fully assembled in a factory and moved to the location without any on-site work or construction permit requirements. The company, based in Reno, Nevada, has set up its manufacturing facility in Seattle, Washington. Once assembled, delivery across the US takes around two to three weeks. The company also reports that haus.me can be shipped to any international seaport depending on the receiving country&rsquo;s regulations.
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    haus.me houses are built with roof-integrated solar panels that generate adequate energy to power the entire house for several days; excess power is stored in a backup battery for future use. During adverse weather, such as storms, the house will switch itself to a low energy consumption mode. Unlike most of the other prefabs, its houses are not required to be connected to the electricity grid, as they are developed to be energy self-sufficient. However, they can be connected to an electrical grid if needed. The houses are also equipped with a cloud-based monitoring and diagnostic system that monitors and detects maintenance issues before they occur.
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    The company reports that its houses are 20x more energy efficient than traditional homes. The company offers two house models: a one-bedroom (400 sq ft) house priced at USD 199,000 upwards and a two-bedroom house (800 sq ft) priced at USD 379,000 upwards, excluding permits and taxes. The company had reportedly received more than 10,000 buyer requests even before the product was launched in 2019. This reached 19,000 by August 2020 with 40 pre-orders. Its first orders were scheduled to be delivered during the spring-summer of 2020 but were postponed to 2021 due to the Covid-19 crisis.
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haus.me

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    Connect Homes provides prefab, modular, single-family housing units that are energy efficient. The company based in Los Angeles has its manufacturing facility set up in San Bernardino, California. The house modules are built in a factory and 90%-completed houses are delivered to the site where it is installed to the base. Unlike most other companies, Connect Homes does not provide personalized options to change the layout. It offers 15 types of pre-designed houses that are customizable for minor aspects such as color, finishing, and fixtures. According to the company, a Connect house can be developed in six days. The company also states that it can utilize standard shipping networks and rail transit to deliver the houses across the US, as the modules are built to fit a shipping container. 
    In November 2022, Connect Homes launched the 
    <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/14654?industryIds=60">
      <u>PRO PLATFORM</u>
    </a>
     which includes a portfolio of curated home models engineered around a common core module targeting real estate developers.
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    The houses are built to achieve energy efficiency with green materials, a low-waste construction process, energy-efficient lighting and roofing as well as exterior walls. Connect houses are not equipped with solar power generation, but provisions are available for a separate company to install solar panels at the customer&rsquo;s discretion. The houses, which range between 460 and 3,200 square feet, are priced between USD 221,000 and USD 698,000.
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    Former Apple executive Greg Leung is the company&rsquo;s chief executive officer (CEO), bringing in expertise in the areas of product lifecycles and customer experience. By November 2020, the company had raised USD 27 million and completed 88 projects.
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Connect Homes

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    Plant Prefab offers fully customized single-family and multifamily prefab homes that are constructed sustainably. The company headquarters is in Rialto, California, which includes a factory, with a second one opened in Ontario, California in July 2021. The company ships throughout the US. Unlike most other companies, Plant does not have pre-designed layouts; instead, they develop houses designed by outside architects, using their patented &ldquo;Plant Building System&rdquo; (PBS). This system uses specialized materials and modules in different possible combinations to ensure sustainability. This flexibility helps develop efficient and durable buildings with optimized thermal performance while using fewer labor hours and less material waste compared to stick-built homes. More than 90% of a Plant Prefab house is completed at the factory, minimizing on-site work. The company had completed 100 buildings by August 2021.
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    The company has two partnerships: 1) with UK-based prefab manufacturer Koto (entered in April 2020) to create net-zero energy houses, inclusive of efficient heating and cooling systems, energy monitoring, energy-efficient lighting, etc. and 2) with architecture firm Richard Pedranti Architect (RPA) (entered in January 2021) to introduce houses that comply with standards set out by Passive House International and the Passive House Institute US that focus on sustainability and occupier health. These houses are also built to generate net-zero energy as well as include smart home technology and energy monitoring systems.
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    The company raised USD 30 million in Series B funding in August 2021 led by Asahi Kasei Corporation (which owns one of Japan&rsquo;s largest homebuilders), Paris Ventures, and Amazon Alexa Fund. The funds were to be used to build a third factory, which was expected to be fully automated to serve as a central production hub through the western US. The 270,000 square feet (sq ft) facility which began construction in December 2021 is scheduled to be opened in January 2023.
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Plant Prefab

Companies specializing in constructing prefab/modular single-family units. This includes only stationary units that are built on a permanent foundation and excludes mobile houses and manufactured houses.

Companies specializing in developing prefab/modular multi-family residential units. This includes only stationary units that are built on a permanent foundation and excludes mobile houses and manufactured houses.

Companies developing movable and self-sustainable houses that are completely developed off-site (including assembling) and transported to the site. This excludes traditional manufactured houses which are not self-sustainable.

Companies that develop buildings that are completely 3D printed on-site. They mostly focus on single-family residential units at present.

Companies specializing in constructing commercial buildings and structures.

Companies developing secondary housing units on a single-family residential lot that can be used for various purposes such as office space, guest house, or as an in-law suite

Prefab construction promotes sustainability through less waste generation, conservative resources use, and minimal disruptions

Uses 3D printing to develop certain parts of the building or the entire building

Some developers offer the option to personalize floor plans and other features of houses

Prefab houses are developed in factories that are typically automated

Koto

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