In keeping with an aggressive business plan focused on software development for the construction industry, Autodesk has made two key acquisitions that it hopes will broaden its construction management platforms.
Today, the company says that it has completed its $875 million cash acquisition of PlanGrid, a seven-year-old startup based in San Francisco, which provides construction productivity software that enables GCs, subcontractors, and owners to have real-time access to project plans, digital blueprints, punch lists, work tasks, progress imagery, daily field reports, and submittals.
Also today, Autodesk discloses that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire BuildingConnected for $275 million in net cash. San Francisco-based BuildingConnected was founded in 2012, and has grown to become the largest digital network of construction professionals, with more than 700,000 people in its database. Its cofounder Dustin DeVan had been a general contractor before starting the company, which currently has about 180 employees.
BuildingConnected helps owners and GCs find and hire qualified contractors for their projects. It moves Autodesk into preconstruction planning to help contractors decide which subs and suppliers to go with. It includes TradeTapp, a subcontractor risk analysis platform; and Bid Board Pro, a platform that helps subs manage and win more bids. BuildingConnected’s customers include such contractor giants as Turner, McCarthy, Mortenson, StructureTone, Skanska, Clark, Ryan Companies, and AECOM.
(Autodesk has taken a particular interest in developing products that get subs more involved earlier in projects. At its recent Autodesk University event in Las Vegas, Autodesk showcased its strategic alliance with eSub Construction Software, a cloud-based system of record for trades to plan and track their employees’ productivity. eSub is the field data component within Autodesk’s BIM 360 platform.)
Its latest acquisition “provides an opportunity for Autodesk and BuildingConnected to connect every business in the construction industry, becoming the definitive source of information throughout the sector,” says Jim Lynch, Vice President and General Manager, Autodesk Construction Solutions. “Our tools empower all stakeholders with greater visibility and better information to make immediate decisions. We’re excited about creating a robust digital marketplace for the global construction industry, helping to boost productivity, while lowering cost and risk.”
BuildingConnected has 700,000 trades in its database, and helps contractors select the best subs and suppliers for their projects. Image: Autodesk
A late bloomer when it comes to implementing technology, the construction sector is now embracing tech to help manage projects at a time when the industry is grappling with labor shortages and other factors that cause 70% of construction projects to be delivered late and/or over budget.
Capturing, analyzing, and disseminating design- and construction-related data are the primary objectives of Autodesk’s product development and expansion strategies. “We are trying to completely digitize the construction process all the way from design to build,” Andrew Anagnost, Autodesk’s evangelical CEO, tells Forbes. “With the completion of [the purchase of] BuildingConnected, we feel we have acquired all the important assets we need to acquire.”
Clayco, the design-build firm, chose Autodesk BIM 360 and PlanGrid to help digitize each step of the construction process in order to accelerate project delivery, reduce risk and increase productivity. “I’m excited to see how Autodesk and PlanGrid will work together to encourage collaboration between the project team and owners from the time a building is conceived, all the way through to handover,” says Bob Clark, Clayco’s founder and CEO.
Autodesk expects PlanGrid to contribute approximately $100 million in annual recurring revenue. Autodesk does not project any ARR from its acquisition of BuildingConnected.
Related Stories
AEC Tech Innovation | Jan 14, 2023
CES recognizes a Dutch firm’s wearable technology for construction management
The firm’s TokenMe product offers construction managers a real-time crowd- and asset-tracking solution via low-power, location-aware radio and RFID tags and multiple sensors through which data are processed with cloud-based artificial intelligence.
Sustainability | Jan 9, 2023
Innovative solutions emerge to address New York’s new greenhouse gas law
New York City’s Local Law 97, an ambitious climate plan that includes fines for owners of large buildings that don’t significantly reduce carbon emissions, has spawned innovations to address the law’s provisions.
Sponsored | Resiliency | Dec 14, 2022
Flood protection: What building owners need to know to protect their properties
This course from Walter P Moore examines numerous flood protection approaches and building owner needs before delving into the flood protection process. Determining the flood resilience of a property can provide a good understanding of risk associated costs.
Mass Timber | Dec 1, 2022
Cross laminated timber market forecast to more than triple by end of decade
Cross laminated timber (CLT) is gaining acceptance as an eco-friendly building material, a trend that will propel its growth through the end of the 2020s. The CLT market is projected to more than triple from $1.11 billion in 2021 to $3.72 billion by 2030, according to a report from Polaris Market Research.
75 Top Building Products | Nov 30, 2022
75 top building products for 2022
Each year, the Building Design+Construction editorial team evaluates the vast universe of new and updated products, materials, and systems for the U.S. building design and construction market. The best-of-the-best products make up our annual 75 Top Products report.
K-12 Schools | Nov 30, 2022
School districts are prioritizing federal funds for air filtration, HVAC upgrades
U.S. school districts are widely planning to use funds from last year’s American Rescue Plan (ARP) to upgrade or improve air filtration and heating/cooling systems, according to a report from the Center for Green Schools at the U.S. Green Building Council. The report, “School Facilities Funding in the Pandemic,” says air filtration and HVAC upgrades are the top facility improvement choice for the 5,004 school districts included in the analysis.
Wood | Nov 16, 2022
5 steps to using mass timber in multifamily housing
A design-assist approach can provide the most effective delivery method for multifamily housing projects using mass timber as the primary building element.
Giants 400 | Nov 14, 2022
4 emerging trends from BD+C's 2022 Giants 400 Report
Regenerative design, cognitive health, and jobsite robotics highlight the top trends from the 519 design and construction firms that participated in BD+C's 2022 Giants 400 Report.
Contractors | Nov 14, 2022
U.S. construction firms lean on technology to manage growth and weather the pandemic
In 2021, Gilbane Building Company and Nextera Robotics partnered in a joint venture to develop an artificial intelligence platform utilizing a fleet of autonomous mobile robots. The platform, dubbed Didge, is designed to automate construction management, maximize reliability and safety, and minimize operational costs. This was just one of myriad examples over the past 18 months of contractor giants turning to construction technology (ConTech) to gather jobsite data, manage workers and equipment, and smooth the construction process.
University Buildings | Nov 13, 2022
University of Washington opens mass timber business school building
Founders Hall at the University of Washington Foster School of Business, the first mass timber building at Seattle campus of Univ. of Washington, was recently completed. The 84,800-sf building creates a new hub for community, entrepreneurship, and innovation, according the project’s design architect LMN Architects.
