Terner Labs

Name

Terner Labs

Legal name

Terner Labs

Website

https://ternerlabs.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Housing Policy & Innovation Services

NAICS

Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (51821), Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services (541690)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Project Preparation Facilities & Technical Assistance Windows (BPADAOAI)

akta.pro secondary industry

Youth Business Incubators & Accelerators (EDAMAHAC)

Keywords

• Housing innovation accelerator
• Housing policy simulation
• Affordable housing ventures
• Nonprofit housing lab
• Land use modeling tools

Headquarters

HQ city

Oakland

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Philanthropic Donations and Grants: Terner Labs is a registered 501c3 tax-exempt organization funded primarily by charitable institutions and philanthropically-oriented individuals. Contributions are 100% tax deductible.
2. Funders Council Membership: The Funders Council brings together engaged partners from government agencies, private corporations, and nonprofits who pay annual membership dues based on donation amounts. Members receive advance notice of publications and recognition.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Terner Labs is a nonprofit housing innovation organization that runs two flagship programs: the Housing Venture Lab, an accelerator that selects 4-6 early-stage housing ventures per cohort and provides approximately $75,000 in seed funding along with six months of intensive coaching, technical support, and network access; and the Data Solutions Lab, which develops data-centric tools including the proprietary Terner Housing Policy Simulator that models housing development feasibility under varied policy scenarios. The organization's accelerator work targets entrepreneurs in building innovation, opportunity and access, and construction, while its Data Solutions Lab serves policymakers, researchers, and advocates through city-specific policy simulation tools covering 20+ U.S. cities.

Product overview

Terner Labs operates as a housing innovation nonprofit with two core labs: the Housing Venture Lab (accelerator programs including the Housing Venture Lab and Builders Lab) and the Data Solutions Lab (data and policy tools). The flagship product is the Terner Housing Policy Simulator, a modeling tool for housing and land use policy analysis, which includes a public-facing interactive visualization covering cities including Denver, Tucson, and San Diego. The organization connects research from the Terner Center at UC Berkeley with practical housing innovations through venture acceleration and policy simulation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Housing Venture Lab: Accelerator program providing wraparound support for entrepreneurs with new ideas to make housing more equitable, accessible, and sustainable
• Data Solutions Lab
• Builders Lab
• Terner Housing Policy Simulator

Products and services

• Housing Venture Lab Accelerator Annual competitive accelerator program for early-stage for-profit and nonprofit housing ventures that provides approximately $75,000 in seed funding plus six months of intensive coaching, technical support, and access to a national network of housing developers, policymakers, community organizations, and investors. Includes two tracks: Building Innovation and Opportunity & Access.
• Builders Lab Accelerator Accelerator program working with emerging leaders in architecture, engineering, construction, and hardware manufacturing to scale effective and sustainable methods of housing delivery across the U.S.
• Terner Housing Policy Simulator Proprietary policy simulation tool that uses local economic conditions, zoning rules, historical development patterns, and pro forma development feasibility calculations to model how housing policies are likely to play out in specific cities. Currently covers more than 20 cities with additional cities in development.
• Housing Policy Simulator Visualization (Denver, Tucson, San Diego) Public-facing interactive web application that lets users explore how various policy scenarios and economic conditions affect housing development across specific cities including Denver, CO; San Diego, CA; and Tucson, AZ.
• Data Solutions Lab Program that develops data-centric tools for housing and land use modeling, including the Terner Housing Policy Simulator, and empowers policymakers, researchers, and advocates to make informed decisions regarding community housing. Partners with institutions such as the Terner Center at UC Berkeley, UCLA Lewis Center, and Morrison Institute for Public Policy.

Quantifiable outcome

• Alumni raised $981M since graduation (18x increase in pre-Lab funding)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers14 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• National League of CitiesflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-hosted 'Aligned Action for Housing Solutions' event and collaborated on the Housing Supply Innovation Symposium. Partnership brings together policymakers, capital providers, and innovators to address housing challenges.
• U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership announced June 2023 to convene the Housing Technology Series exploring technological advances in housing. HUD Secretary Marcia L. Fudge announced the partnership at the Innovative Housing Showcase.
• Arizona State University - Morrison Institute for Public PolicycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership formed in 2025 to support researchers and policymakers in modeling land use, zoning and other housing policies to address Arizona's housing shortage. Terner Labs is building Housing Policy Simulators for Arizona communities.
• MapCraftcoreTechnology or IntegrationMapCraft provides the back-end computing power and online interface for the Housing Policy Simulator. Via the MapCraft interface, users can view maps of expected dwelling units and compare scenarios.
• Terner Center for Housing Innovation at UC BerkeleyflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerTerner Labs' sister organization and research partner. The Terner Center grounds Terner Labs' work in research and policy expertise. Carol Galante is co-founder of Terner Labs and founder of the Terner Center.
• UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy StudiescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner institution conducting research on inclusionary zoning and density bonuses using Terner Housing Policy Simulator data.
• University of DenvercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearchers at University of Denver used the Denver-specific Housing Policy Simulator to model impacts of eliminating parking minimums, resulting in policy change.
• Reframe SystemsminorOthersRobotics-based housing company mentioned at NCSL Legislative Summit that won the 2025 Ivory Prize for building starter homes in microfactories. Represents type of innovation Terner Labs ecosystem supports.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Terner Center for Housing Innovation (UC Berkeley): Terner Labs' affiliated research organization at UC Berkeley, founded and chaired by the same co-founder (Carol Galante). Terner Labs sits at the research-to-practice boundary as the Center's applied arm; they share personnel, methodology, and institutional identity while serving overlapping policymakers and researchers.
• Urban Institute: Nonpartisan policy research organization with a substantial Housing Policy Center. Shares with Terner Labs the research-and-data-tools model serving policymakers — Urban Institute produces the kinds of rigorous quantitative analyses that Terner Labs codifies into the Housing Policy Simulator.
• National League of Cities: Direct strategic partner — Terner Labs co-hosts events and convenings with NLC for city officials. Compares as a peer in addressing the same municipal-policy audience for housing affordability, equity, and access, with overlapping membership/constituency.
• Brookings Institution (Metropolitan Policy Program): Major U.S. think tank producing housing, zoning, and urban-policy research addressed to the same municipal and federal policymaker audience. Comparable to Terner Labs as a producer of research-driven, policy-actionable analysis on U.S. housing supply.
• New America Foundation (Housing and Economic Mobility): Public-interest think tank with a focused Housing and Economic Mobility program producing policy research and convenings. Compares as a research-and-policy peer producing analysis and partnerships that inform federal, state, and local housing decisions, similar to Terner Labs' research-driven approach.

Broad incumbents

• Enterprise Community Partners: One of the largest U.S. nonprofits focused on affordable housing and community development, deploying capital, policy research, and developer partnerships. Compares to Terner Labs as a much larger incumbent operating across the same housing-equity mission space with overlapping policy-advocacy and capital-aggregation functions.
• Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC): Major U.S. community development financial institution supporting affordable housing, economic development, and health. LISC is comparable to Terner Labs as a scaled nonprofit working at the intersection of housing policy, financing, and place-based community outcomes across U.S. cities.
• U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD): Federal housing agency and Terner Labs' flagship government partner (Housing Technology Series). Comparable as a peer in setting U.S. housing-policy direction, with HUD serving as the broad incumbent setting frameworks that Terner Labs' data tools are designed to support and inform.
• Habitat for Humanity International: Large global nonprofit focused on affordable home ownership and affordable housing. Compares to Terner Labs at the mission level — addressing U.S. housing affordability and equity through nonprofit action — but operates at substantially larger scale and with different mechanisms (direct homebuilding vs. policy tools + accelerator).
• Fannie Mae (Housing & Policy Research): Government-sponsored enterprise with significant housing-finance, research, and innovation activity (e.g., Innovation Challenge, HERE, and 'Let's Make Home' initiatives). Shares with Terner Labs a focus on housing supply, equity, and data-driven research aimed at policy and practitioner audiences.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ternerlabs
• Instagraminstagram.com/ternerlabs
• Xx.com/ternerlabs

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 Terner Labs