Samara

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.

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

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

• Prefab ADU construction
• Factory-built homes
• Accessory dwelling units
• Modular housing
• Backyard home builders

Headquarters

HQ city

Redwood City

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Operations, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core 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

Named customers7 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature5 records

Partnerships

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.Strategic or Co-development PartnerSamara 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.Strategic or Co-development PartnerRick 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.Channel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSamara 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.OthersSamara 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.GTM or Marketing PartnerLaunchSquad 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

Direct 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

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@meetsamara
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/meetsamara
• Instagraminstagram.com/meetsamara
• Xx.com/Samara

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors6 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Samara