December 20, 2018

Why Autodesk Just Spent $1.15 Billion On Two Construction Tech Startups

Autodesk’s construction software business is getting its second acquisition-fueled jolt of the past few weeks. The company announced on Thursday that it is acquiring startup BuildingConnected for $275 million.

The acquisition of BuildingConnected comes exactly one month after Autodesk announced plans to acquire PlanGrid, another construction tech startup, for $875 million in November (the deal closed today). Together, the two acquisitions mean Autodesk has paid $1.15 billion in a month for the startup companies.

Acquiring BuildingConnected and PlanGrid pour some fuel on the fire of Autodesk’s strategy under CEO Andrew Anagnost to focus on construction as its top priority market for software development in recent months. Late to the shift to digital technology, construction is now a fast-growing category for software tools, with some estimates expecting that market to reach $10 billion by 2020. Read rest here.