PlanGrid, a US-based construction software developer backed by cloud services provider Box and internet technology conglomerate Alphabet, yesterday agreed to an acquisition by architecture software developer Autodesk for $875m in cash.
The deal is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close by the end of January 2019.
Founded in 2011, PlanGrid has created a platform that enables architects, general contractors, subcontractors and owners in the commercial and heavy civil engineering sector and related industries to collaborate on projects in real time.
The software is currently being used across more than 1 million projects in 90 countries. It will be integrated into Autodesk’s building information modelling software, Revit, and construction management platform Bim 360.
PlanGrid has raised $69m in funding, it said yesterday, beginning with a $1.5m seed round in 2012 that featured Box’s corporate venturing arm, Box Innovation Network, and GV, the Alphabet unit formerly known as Google Ventures.
500 Startups, Navitas Capital and Y Combinator also took part in the seed round, as did assorted angel investors.
Sequoia Capital led an $18m series A round for PlanGrid in May 2015, before it added another $40m in a round led by Tenaya Capital, with participation from Sequoia, Founders Fund, Y Combinator’s YC Continuity Fund and Northgate six months later.
Andrew Anagnost, chief executive of Autodesk, said: “As designing and making converge, Autodesk is connecting project data from design through construction and putting predictive insights into the hands of contractors.
“There is a huge opportunity to streamline all aspects of construction through digitisation and automation. The acquisition of PlanGrid will accelerate our efforts to improve construction workflows for every stakeholder in the construction process.”
