Autodesk has reportedly inked a definitive agreement to acquire construction productivity software provider PlanGrid for USD 875 million. As per trusted sources, the acquisition of the San Francisco-based startup fits with the vision of Autodesk to digitize design in general.
Launched in 2011, PlanGrid is a 2012 graduate of Y Combinator and assisted in moving blueprints from paper to the iPad at the time of its inception. The company shifted the paper-intensive task including sticky notes and hand-written mark-ups onto the iPad, cite reliable sources.
The Chief Executive Officer of Autodesk, Andrew Anagnost was reportedly quoted stating that there exists an enormous opportunity to streamline all facets of the construction industry through automation and digitization. The addition of PlanGrid would speed up the efforts of Autodesk to enhance construction workflows for all the stakeholders in the construction industry, Anagnost further added.
According to a press release issued by Autodesk, the software provided by PlanGrid lets owners, general contractors, and subcontractors in heavy civil, commercial, and other industries to work together throughout the lifecycle of the construction project. It provides real-time updates of collaboration, ensuring the office and the field are on the same page. The software further offers real-time access to daily field reports, progress photos, project tasks, punch lists, project plans, and submittals.
While speaking at TechCrunch Disrupt 2015 in San Francisco, the Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of PlanGrid, Tracy Young had reportedly commented that the heart of the construction was just a lot of blueprints information currently tracked on paper. All of it is constantly changing and the overall construction industry was ripe for a drastic transformation, Young had further added.
For the record, Young previously worked as an engineer for a construction firm where she was tasked with the formulation of paper copies. She recognized that those manual changes frequently led to errors and resulted in additional expenses for the contractors.