Promise Robotics Partners With D.R. Horton to Bring Physical AI to U.S. Homebuilding
The construction industry is fragmented and has been conservative about new technology, but physical AI promises to modernize homebuilding. Promise Robotics announced a multi-year agreement with D.R. Horton, which will use its Factory-as-a-Service capabilities to produce more than 1,250 homes in the U.S.
Ramtin Attar, co-founder and CEO, said homebuilding has long lacked the production infrastructure needed to scale with the speed, predictability and efficiency of modern manufacturing. Physical AI, he said, creates a production model that can expand capacity within and across markets, and the company aims to make it accessible to builders across North America.
Attar told The Robot Report the company was founded on the thesis that homebuilding robotics needed a very different approach and tech stack, beginning with mechanical and HVAC work before building physical-AI infrastructure for component manufacturing.
Founded in 2021, Promise Robotics says it has integrated robotics, AI, software and manufacturing systems to connect the homebuilding workflow, from design translation and production planning to automated manufacturing and onsite installation.
The Toronto-based company says its Factory-as-a-Service (FaaS) model gives homebuilders advanced production infrastructure without the cost, complexity or risk of building and operating it themselves.
As builders face persistent housing demand, labor shortages and rising costs, they are seeking more repeatable, scalable ways to expand production, Promise Robotics says.
Attar said construction is large but fragmented, unlike automotive manufacturing, which has a handful of dominant players. The homebuilding workforce is split among businesses handling land, consumer housing and seasonal trades, and does not invest in workers the way traditional manufacturing does.
There is no true productization, in which the same vehicle is built millions of times with slight variations, he added. Even within one home, every floor or wall differs in clearances, components and layout.
To tackle these challenges, the company takes a distributed manufacturing approach: Attar said microfactories are a good problem for AI to solve, and the firm has spent years developing foundational models and systems for construction.
Promotional material for the 2026 RoboBusiness event invited readers to register and help mark 20 years of the conference.