I've been very interested in the Katerra story for a few reasons:
- I'm a real estate investor
- I have a logistics background
- The founder (or some other exec, can't remember) came to speak to my MBA class a few years back, and we toured their factory
What Katerra was trying to do is highly compelling, and I have to believe it'll eventually get done.
In terms of how it gets done, two paths initially come to mind:
1) Amazon acquires to leverage the logistics-at-scale approach and funds long enough to find P/M fit.
2) A new startup (or spin-off) focuses on one of the products (I'd choose software first) and nails P/M fit. By strategically making the first product one that removes blockers to pave the way and jump-starts change in the rest of the industry they can expand into adjacent products. Maybe there are existing companies like Houzz that could incubate one of these projects.
IMO solving this and combining it with ESG is world-changing to the extent of Tesla--affordable, sustainable housing for everyone. It could even be a status thing where the wealthy are willing to pay a bit more and for every build a home gets built for someone in need. If I were back in my 20's with no kids/mortgage and looking for a new project, I would tackle this.