UK Startup Hopes to Change How Affordable Housing is Built Across Europe and the US

Workforce shortages coupled with increased building costs continue to highlight the inefficiencies of the current construction industry, which has been slow to accept modern technology.

These are big issues, but one UK-based startup, Automated Architecture—or AUAR (pronounced “our”) for short—believes it has the solution that can help change all of that, according to a recent profile by sifted (3-20-24).

AUAR has just raised £2.6m to kickstart plans to build affordable homes across Europe and the US. The round was led by venture studio Miles Ahead and featured ABB RA Ventures, the VC arm of automotive robotics company ABB, Rival Holdings, and Morgan Stanley.

AUAR Co-Founder and CEO Mollie Claypool told sifted that the company is automating the construction process of timber houses with robots in small production facilities it calls “microfactories.” Combined with a proprietary operating system, the startup can strip back the thousands of production lines typically involved in the building process to just a couple.

Claypool added that AUAR can save builders on labor and supply chain costs, as well as encourage more sustainable building practices via the use of greener materials and reduced transportation distances. “If we can get construction companies to radically change the way they engage with technology, we can deliver high-quality affordable housing at scale.”