Modulous expands to U.S. and taps Katerra alums to open Seattle office, led by Managing Director Janet Stephenson
Modulous announced today that it is expanding to the U.S. and is opening an office in the Seattle region.
“With a nationwide shortage of more than 5 million homes, there has never been a greater need to accelerate housing development in the U.S.,” said Modulous Co-Founder and CEO Chris Bone. “What makes Modulous unique is our asset-light approach. Avoiding capital-intensive factories, we instead focus on empowering developers, architects, and contractors with the information, products, and processes to do their jobs better. We give them real-time access to the data, building components, and service providers they need to develop high-quality housing at the speed and scale that society requires.”
Modulous in the U.S. is led by four women who were all senior staff at Katerra, the technology driven, offsite construction firm that had a transformational impact on the construction industry. Overseeing the U.S. team is Janet Stephenson, an industry leader in the productization of construction and the former head of building platform sales at Katerra.
“Modulous was founded on the belief that everyone should have access to sustainable, comfortable, and healthy homes,” said Stephenson, who will serve as Regional Managing Director, U.S. “I am pleased to join the Modulous team because I see a unique opportunity to leverage our technology and world-class supplier network to break the logjam in U.S. housing production. Rather than introducing another construction input that cannot scale, we will use our platform to align incentives in the ecosystem, accelerate sustainable development, and reduce the pricing pressure on homeowners and renters.”
Added Chris Bone, “We are absolutely delighted that Janet and her team have chosen to join Modulous. They are very talented and extremely experienced professionals who will help us land and expand in the U.S. market. The opportunity for us is vast, and we couldn’t have a better team of people at the wheel.”
“Modulous is exactly the kind of offsite construction firm that fits Blackhorn’s thesis for this built environment sub-sector,” said Ray Levitt, Blackhorn Ventures, the lead investors behind Modulous. “They own the customers – large public or private developers of affordable housing – and they operate as modular designers and digital supply chain integrators, while outsourcing manufacturing assembly and installation. This allows Modulous to be highly capital-efficient, profitable, and resilient to industry cycles. Expanding into the U.S. is the logical next step.”
Support from Investors and Partners
“We are delighted to have Modulous in our portfolio because it offers the industry a unique offsite construction model,” said Mateo Zimmermann, Investment Manager at CEMEX Ventures. “Its digital and innovative approach enables the supply chain to deliver sustainable and high-quality homes, significantly reducing time and costs. Modulous does not require additional capex, which makes it globally scalable, so I am delighted to see it expand into the U.S. market. People need more homes, and this team is going to revolutionize the residential development industry.”
“Crane Worldwide Logistics is pleased to partner with Modulous to support their highly efficient offsite construction business model,” said Ewan Alexander, Global Vice President of Consumer Logistics at Crane Worldwide Logistics. “The modular sector faces criticism for the transport of single units over long distances, but Modulous enables a different approach, transporting flat-packed ‘Kits of Parts’ from regional suppliers to local assembly points. Crane Worldwide Logistics is working with the technology team at Modulous to seamlessly integrate the full logistics journey into their software platform and admire their global vision to transform construction industry norms.”
U.S. Team Bios
Janet Stephenson, LEED AP
Regional Managing Director, U.S.
With a reputation for being at the forefront of new practice, Janet brings 23 years of AEC experience, engaging clients in market transformation strategies for sustainability, productization, and off-site construction. Janet joined Katerra in 2017 to lead sales for the U.S. West, ultimately becoming Head of Building Platform Sales for the launch of Katerra’s Garden Multifamily Building Platform.
Jennifer Caldwell, AIA
Design Director, U.S.
Jennifer is a licensed architect with over 13 years of experience specializing in multifamily and senior independent living for national and local developers. With 4 years as Director of Architecture with Katerra, Jen led multi-disciplinary project execution of Katerra’s prefabricated products from feasibility through construction completion.
Kassandra Mast
Operations Director, U.S.
Kassi is an operations professional focused on innovative and effective execution. From her background in engineering and oilfield operations, she brings rigor to thorough planning, efficient processes, and continuous improvement. With 3.5 years in various roles at Katerra, Kassi most recently oversaw construction optimization for the Garden Multifamily Building Platform where she developed strong cross-team integration for quality outcomes.
Eva Talbot, AIA
Product Director, U.S.
Eva is a licensed architect with over 15 years of experience working in complex, mixed-use architecture and in development strategy. Having 3.5 years’ experience at Katerra, most recently as the Director of Product Design, Eva brings deep expertise in design for the productization and off-site manufacturing of multifamily buildings.