Samara
Samara designs, manufactures, finances, and installs factory-built accessory dwelling units (ADUs) under its Backyard brand. It serves California individual homeowners and multifamily operators across 45 cities via two manufacturing facilities and a captive financing subsidiary.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2016
- HeadquartersRedwood City, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Samara does
Samara Living Inc. is a California-based home services company that designs, manufactures, finances, and installs factory-built accessory dwelling units (ADUs) under the Backyard brand. Founded in 2016 as an R&D team within Airbnb and spun out independently, the company launched its first Backyard product in November 2022 and now operates five standardized configurations (Studio, One Bedroom, Two Bedroom, XL 8, XL 10) priced from $152,000 to $277,000. Its core technology is a panelized, light-gauge-steel modular construction system with a WUI-compliant fire-resistant envelope, all-electric heat-pump HVAC with MERV-13 filtration, optional rooftop solar and Tesla Powerwall 3 integration, and a Wi-Fi-connected smart-home stack. Backyard units are California HCD-approved as factory-built housing and are pre-certified to meet Wildland-Urban Interface code requirements.
Samara produces Backyard ADUs at a 150,000-square-foot factory it acquired in Mexicali, Mexico in February 2024, with a second California manufacturing facility opened in September 2025, and delivers finished units to California sites in 4–7 months. The company sells direct to California homeowners through its own e-commerce storefront with a self-serve 3D configurator, supported by inside-sales advisors and physical showrooms in Redwood City and Thousand Oaks, and extends to multifamily developers and operators (e.g., Prometheus Real Estate Group) via a B2B channel. The operating footprint is currently limited to 45 California cities.
The business model combines one-time hardware revenue from unit sales with bundled installation, permitting, and project services, plus a recurring-interest revenue line from a wholly-owned captive financing subsidiary, Samara Finance, LLC, which offers 30.5-year second-mortgage ADU loans at 6.5% APR with six months of deferred payments. Samara is backed by Thrive Capital (lead investor in both Series A and B), 8VC, General Catalyst, New Legacy, SV Angel, and angel investors including Airbnb co-founders Joe Gebbia, Brian Chesky, and Nate Blecharczyk, plus Michael Dell. The company has raised more than $75M in venture funding to date and was recognized on TIME's Best Inventions 2024 list.
Samara firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Samara
- Legal name
- Samara Living Inc.
- Website
- https://samara.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2016
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Samara designs, manufactures, finances, and installs factory-built accessory dwelling units (ADUs) under its Backyard brand. It serves California individual homeowners and multifamily operators across 45 cities via two manufacturing facilities and a captive financing subsidiary.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Samara industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Prefabricated Accessory Dwelling Units (Modular Housing)
- NAICS
- Prefabricated Wood Building Manufacturing (321992)
- SIC
- Prefabricated Wood Bldgs & Components (2452)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Residential Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) & Backyard Homes (IMAFABAK)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Detached ADU (Backyard Cottage) Construction (HSAPAMAA), ADU Interior Build-Out & Finishes (HSAPAMAI)
Keywords
Where Samara is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Redwood City
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices3 records
Markets served
Samara business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Operations, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Backyard unit sales: One-time sale of factory-built ADU units across Studio (from $152,000), One Bedroom (from $170,000), Two Bedroom (from $190,000), XL 8 (from $249,000), and XL 10 (from $277,000) configurations, with site delivery, install, and finishing included.
- Backyard financing program: Captive financing offered through Samara Finance, LLC at 6.5% APR over a 30.5-year term with six months of deferred payments (example: ~$1,896/month for 30 years), generating recurring interest income tied to each financed unit sale.
- Installation and project services: Site feasibility, permitting, utility connections, and install services bundled with each Backyard order, plus custom configurations and finish upgrades, representing professional services revenue layered onto the unit sale.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | One time/ perpetual license | Studio Backyard from $152,000 |
| Unit Pricing | One time/ perpetual license | One Bedroom Backyard from $170,000 |
| Unit Pricing | One time/ perpetual license | Two Bedroom Backyard from $190,000 |
| Unit Pricing | One time/ perpetual license | XL 8 Backyard from $249,000 |
| Unit Pricing | One time/ perpetual license | XL 10 Backyard from $277,000 |
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | Backyard Financing via Samara Finance, LLC |
Go-to-market motion4 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels6 records
Samara product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Samara designs, manufactures, and sells factory-built prefabricated accessory dwelling units (ADUs) under the "Backyard" product line for California homeowners. The company delivers end-to-end services spanning site feasibility, permitting, off-site manufacturing, on-site installation, and in-house consumer financing through Samara Finance, LLC, with a stated delivery window of roughly 4 to 7 months.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Backyard: Samara's flagship line of factory-built, prefabricated accessory dwelling units (ADUs) available in Studio, One Bedroom, Two Bedroom, Backyard XL 8, and Backyard XL 10 configurations.
Products and services
- Backyard Studio
Quantifiable outcome
- $100M+ project value delivered in California over the past year
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use Samara
Customer profileNamed customers7 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Samara technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration1 record
Feature5 records
Samara partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Five partnerships are on record, tiered flagship mission-aligned partnership providing free backyard homes to la wildfire victims., mission-aligned founder partner behind steadfast la; lends civic credibility and access to fire-impacted communities., flagship multifamily channel partner opening b2b distribution for backyard units., critical regulatory relationship enabling statewide adu permitting and certification. and supporting pr and communications partner supporting earned-media momentum..
- Steadfast LA Foundationflagship mission-aligned partnership providing free backyard homes to la wildfire victims.Samara partners with Steadfast LA Foundation, founded by Rick Caruso, to provide free Backyard ADUs to households impacted by the Los Angeles-area wildfires, such as the Rodriguez family in Altadena.
- Rick Carusomission-aligned founder partner behind steadfast la; lends civic credibility and access to fire-impacted communities.Rick Caruso founded the Steadfast LA Foundation, which partners with Samara to deliver free Backyard ADUs to fire-displaced homeowners in the LA area.
- Prometheus Real Estate Groupflagship multifamily channel partner opening b2b distribution for backyard units.Samara collaborates with Prometheus Real Estate Group to install Backyard ADUs within Prometheus multifamily communities, providing residents with additional housing units and extending Samara's reach beyond single-family homeowners.
- California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD)critical regulatory relationship enabling statewide adu permitting and certification.Samara works with California's HCD and local jurisdictions to obtain the ADU permits required to deliver Backyard units across 45 California cities.
- LaunchSquadsupporting pr and communications partner supporting earned-media momentum.LaunchSquad serves as Samara's public relations partner, supporting media outreach across CNBC, Bloomberg, WSJ, TIME, Wallpaper and other outlets.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves8 records
Expansion highlights7 records
Samara competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Mighty Buildings: Mighty Buildings uses 3D-printing and prefab methods to produce ADUs and accessory units, including backyard studios, with a comparable factory-built, code-compliant, and increasingly California-focused go-to-market.
- Boxabl: Boxabl builds factory-finished, foldable residential units (most prominently the Casita) sold direct to consumers for backyard and accessory use. It is the closest analogue to Samara in product format, factory-built delivery model, and DTC go-to-market, making it the most directly comparable peer.
- Dvele: Dvele designs and manufactures high-end, technology-rich modular and prefab homes with a similar focus on factory precision, energy efficiency, and premium California homeowner segments.
- Plant Prefab: Plant Prefab is a California-based sustainable prefab home builder offering factory-built ADUs and single-family homes with a comparable custom-to-prefab delivery model and California permitting workflow.
- Cover: Cover designs and installs backyard ADUs and studios with a software-configurable, panelized system; it competes with Samara for the same California homeowner and backyard-density use cases.
- Method Homes: Method Homes is a prefab modular home manufacturer with California delivery capability and a factory-built approach that overlaps with Samara's panelized, code-compliant ADU model.
- Connect Homes: Connect Homes designs and ships factory-built modular homes and ADUs from a California facility, competing with Samara in the prefab backyard and accessory-unit category.
Emerging players
- Kasita: Kasita is a smaller prefab ADU/compact-home brand pursuing factory-built urban and backyard units; it overlaps with Samara on product concept but at a smaller operational scale.
- Vantem: Vantem develops factory-built, net-zero modular housing using a panelized construction system with similar energy-efficiency and panel-based manufacturing claims to Samara's Backyard line.
Broad incumbents
- Katerra (legacy): Katerra (now reorganized) was a large prefab and modular housing platform that attempted to scale factory-built housing at national scope; it is a historical analogue for the execution and capital risks that hardware-heavy prefab models face.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Samara social profiles
Digital presenceSamara financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Samara leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
Samara subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
Samara funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds2 records
Investors6 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Samara M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Samara
What does Samara do?
Samara designs, manufactures, and sells factory-built prefabricated accessory dwelling units (ADUs) under the "Backyard" product line for California homeowners. The company delivers end-to-end services spanning site feasibility, permitting, off-site manufacturing, on-site installation, and in-house consumer financing through Samara Finance, LLC, with a stated delivery window of roughly 4 to 7 months.
Is Samara a public or private company?
Samara is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Samara founded?
Samara was founded in 2016. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Samara based?
Samara is headquartered in Redwood City, United States, in the North America region.
How does Samara make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Backyard unit sales are the primary driver. The others are backyard financing program and installation and project services.
Who are Samara's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Mighty Buildings, Boxabl, Dvele, Plant Prefab, Cover, Method Homes and Connect Homes. Emerging players are Kasita and Vantem. Katerra (legacy) is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does Samara have an API?
No public API is recorded for Samara.
What industry is Samara in?
Samara's product category is Prefabricated Accessory Dwelling Units (Modular Housing). Its primary akta.pro industry code is IMAFABAK, Residential Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) & Backyard Homes, with a secondary code of HSAPAMAA, Detached ADU (Backyard Cottage) Construction. Its NAICS code is 321992 and its SIC code is 2452.