SoftBank-Funded Construction Startup Katerra to Close Phoenix Factory

Modular construction company Katerra Inc., a business with a more than $1 billion valuation that's backed by Japan-based SoftBank Group Inc., plans to close its Phoenix manufacturing facility and shift operations to its home state of California where it says it has a more sophisticated factory with self-guided vehicles and robotic assembly lines.
The 250,000-square-foot Phoenix factory at 624 N. 44th Ave., which was Katerra's first building components making site when it opened at the former United Beverage Co. in 2017, will shut at the end of this month, the company said in a blog post published on its website. The move, which may involve eliminating 200 jobs, comes as the company has been adding workers and expanding its operations.