Rather than having one capital-intensive centralized mega-factory to produce prefabricated building parts or components, Cuby is using finely engineered, decentralized, localized factories that will solve the huge logistics challenge posed by the traditional modular and prefab methodologies that to date have been prohibitive to scaling and adoption amongst incumbent players.

Taking advantage of these efficiencies, builders could dramatically reduce the estimated 4.8 million single-family home shortage that currently exists in the U.S. housing market (since 2001), a $1.95 trillion current-day value. One of the factors contributing to our housing shortage is the shrinking pool of qualified, trained construction workers.

“Cuby’s lean manufacturing approach solves two of the biggest problems currently in construction: a dramatic shortage of labor and shortage of quality,” said Cuby’s co-founder, Aleh Kandrashou. Constructed using steel and concrete, with smart-home technology built in, Cuby homes will be of higher quality than a typical wood-framed home and will cost, on average, less per square foot, almost doubling builders’ margins, passing through the savings to end-occupiers.

The answer is found in what’s called the manufacturing gap, where the US publicly and privately financially supports basic research to create new technology but fails to financially support commercialization. Development stage companies in the US often struggle to borrow or raise the money needed to finance a new factory, particularly when those loans or investments can take many years to pay off.

The good news is that there is bipartisan support to solve this problem. Republican Senator Marco Rubio and moderate Democratic senators, led by Senator Chris Coons of Delaware, have proposed creating an Industrial Finance Corporation (IFC) that would fill the manufacturing gap and finance high-tech production nationwide.

The IFC would make long-term loans, own equity, and guarantee purchases for emerging companies, so they could commercialize their technology and products. Creating the IFC will support growth of a trillion dollar US ecosystem for industries of the future.

It must be done!