Outer Spaces Launches With A New Category Beyond The Walls of The Home - Merging Outdoor Living With Home Energy

The company launches with an $8 million pre-seed round of financing led by Upfront Ventures, with participation from Unlock Venture Partners, Mucker Capital, and Genius Ventures. Outer Spaces was founded by serial entrepreneur Jiake Liu, designer Terry Lin, and CTO Robin Liao, the creators behind the direct-to-consumer outdoor living brand Outer. Together, they bring a combined background in engineering, product design, and consumer brand-building to residential energy.

Invisibly Powerful. Beautifully Structural.

With integrated solar, invisible battery storage, and multiple configurations, OS1 creates endless possibilities for gathering, working, cooking or recharging outside, all while powering the home. Its solar pavilion generates energy overhead, while the power deck houses ultra-thin battery storage beneath a finished outdoor deck. Together, they create an outdoor structure that produces power through the day and can provide backup power.

Until now, residential solar has been designed as industrial equipment: panels attached to the roof, exposed batteries occupying space in a garage or along an exterior wall. The technology has advanced considerably but the way it looks and the way it fits into people's lives has not. Thoughtful design is what's been missing.

"The land and sunlight outside our homes are two of our most valuable, yet underutilized resources. At the same time, the technology needed to generate and store energy at homes already exists," said Jiake Liu, co-founder and CEO of Outer Spaces. "We believe power should do more than run a house. It should expand how you live in it. Rather than asking homeowners to compromise the appearance and safety of their homes, we're giving them more livable space that also powers it."

The first Outer Spaces systems will be available beginning in 2027, starting in Southern California and select markets. Homeowners will configure and order their system online, and the company will also sell through solar installers, builders, landscapers, developers and designers. Pricing will be announced in early 2027.

Homeowners can register today at www.outerspaces.co to receive updates on launch pricing and request priority scheduling in the initial installation markets, ahead of general availability. Installers, builders, developers, and designers interested in carrying the system can apply to the company's partner program at the same address.

The first product will be offered in two sizes, 12 feet by 12 feet and 12 feet by 24 feet, adding 144 or 288 square feet of finished outdoor living space that can be used in multiple ways: as an outdoor living room, dining area, kitchen, office, gym or wellness space. Configurations will offer 2.4 TO 5.3 kilowatts of solar generation and between 15 and 60 kilowatt-hours of battery storage, enough to offset a meaningful share of a household's daily electricity use and to keep the home running through an outage.

Configure Online. Assemble on Site.

Designed as a modular product that is simple, precise and predictable to install – rather than a custom construction project – the system requires minimal to no excavation. Designed for rapid on-site assembly, OS1's innovative architecture significantly reduces installation complexity compared to traditional outdoor construction, with no concrete pouring or lumber cutting, and minimal noise, after which a licensed electrician connects the energy system to the home.

Built like Infrastructure. Feels Like Home.

"People care how their homes look, yet the solar industry has asked them to stop caring," said Terry Lin, co-founder and chief design officer of Outer Spaces. "We approached residential energy as an architectural and consumer-design challenge to create a space people would want in their backyard."

"Having personally gone through a painfully slow and expensive backyard deck construction project and solar installation, I wish Outer Spaces had existed," said Kevin Zhang, General Partner, Upfront Ventures. "Thrilled to back Jiake and Terry again in this new vision: they have invented a beautiful, flexible backyard space that provides seamless home energy independence, and the best part is it doesn't require full construction crews and lengthy permitting."

Outer Spaces will use the funding to build the team and pursue channel partnerships. 

The company will show the system publicly for the first time at RE+ 2026, November 16–19 at the Las Vegas Convention Center, West Hall — Booth #W17153.

About Outer Spaces

Outer Spaces imagines a future where every backyard powers better living.  We are creating a new category beyond the walls of home: residential solar and battery storage built into the structure of an outdoor living space. OS1, our solar pavilion and power deck system, pairs on-site solar generation with invisible battery storage and multiple configurations, creating endless possibilities for gathering, working, cooking, training, or recharging outside – all while powering the home. Designed for rapid on-site assembly, OS1's innovative architecture significantly reduces installation complexity compared to traditional outdoor construction, giving installers, developers, and designers an alternative to conventional rooftop arrays and wall-mounted battery packs. Outer Spaces was founded in 2025 by Jiake Liu, Terry Lin, and Robin Liao, the founders of outdoor living brand Outer, and is based in El Segundo, Calif. Learn more at www.outerspaces.co.

Media Contact: 
Tim Turpin, CodePR
[email protected]

SOURCE Outer Spaces