News of Autodesk's $240 million acquisition of Oslo, Norway-based, Spacemaker.AI offers the latest evidence of the maturation of Europe's Buildings and Infrastructure technology sector and the increasing trend toward international deals, as leading edge technology companies are cropping up far beyond early centers in places like San Francisco, Boston, and London and as the industry's growing tech players push to expand their customer bases, globally. The deal also highlights the growing importance of AI and Machine learning in this phase of technology dealmaking. An emerging leader in the field of AI and generative design tools for early-stage development and design planning, Spacemaker Founder & CEO, Havard Haukeland spoke at our Global Summit in Paris in 2019, and we identified Spacemaker among a list of promising European Startups in our 2019 European Report.
Around the World, Deals Sizes Grow & More Companies Invest Internationally.
Autodesk's acquisition of Spacemaker is certainly not the first international deal in the AEC tech sector. Oracle's $1.2 Billion acquisition of Australia-based Aconex may still be the largest, and Bentley's acquisition of London-base synchro was another illustration of the trend. In the reverse, Nemetchek's acquisitions of Bluebeam is an example of a European firm buying an American firm. What appears to be different now is the pace of larger deals. Over four days, this past October, we covered international investment in the sector, looking at examples of earlier and later stage companies garnering growing international investment, not only in Europe, but also in places like South America, Australia, Israel, and Saudi Arabia/UAE.
Moving from Digitization of Workflows to Automation and Intelligence.
Early in the sector's technology transformation, the focus was on moving companies from Excel spreadsheets and paper forms and blueprints into cloud based, mobile-friendly systems with structured databases and workflows that would reduce labor associated with double-entry, lack of access to data, and the simple pains of printing, scanning, faxing, mailing, filing and otherwise managing paper. In the last several years, the attention has shifted from moving processes online to leveraging Machine Learning and Artificial intelligence to gain faster and better insights from data to make predictions and to automate processes. Spacemaker is one example of this growing breed of solutions, and we can expect to see a lot more from that group in the years to come, especially as older and more established firms look to incorporate those features into their own offerings.
Research and Lists Featuring Emerging Tech in AI and Machine Learning:
Watch Recent Discussion Sessions and Demos Around AI/Machine Learning:
BuiltWorlds Venture Forum Demo Drop – Constru
Constru brings advanced AI into the construction sector. The solution uses breakthrough computer vision technology to match, then greatly exceed human capabilities in inspection and analysis of the construction process.
Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning
Christian Burger, Founder & President at Burger Consulting Group, is joined by John Jurewicz, Director of Innovation at Walbridge Aldinger, Mark Jenkins, Director of Product Strategy at Oracle, and Hugh Seaton, Head of Product at Crosswalk by CSI, for a panel discussion on utilizing Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) in the construction industry.
Mike Fitzgerald Presentation – March Venture Call: FinTech in Construction
On our March Venture Call focused on FinTech in Construction, Mike Fitzgerald, Head of Sales with Vertical, discussed how Vertical works directly with contractors, how they are able to make the draw process more efficient, and gave his thoughts on how FinTech currently fits into the construction tech landscape and where he views it progressing from here.
Cutler Knupp Presentation – March Venture Call: FinTech in Construction
On our March Venture Call focused on FinTech in Construction, Cutler Knupp, Director of Strategy and Technology Investment with Haskell’s Dysruptek, discussed how Dysruptek views the current FinTech offerings available to contractors, how they view pilot programs and best practices on implementation, and how he views the use of FinTech within contracting going forward.
March Venture Call: FinTech in Construction (Full Recording)
We are joined by both a startup provider and an industry user from the investment perspective. In this call we explored how FinTech solution Vertical works directly with contractors, subcontractors, and how they are able to make the draw process more efficient and automated. Cutler Knupp with Dysruptek touched on their recent experiences evaluating FinTech to consolidate their payments process, and who they have researched from an investment perspective. Both panelists also discussed where they have seen the use of FinTech in the industry come from about 5 years ago, to where they see it currently, how they each see it progressing, and where adoption will occur going forward.
BuiltWorlds Venture Forum Demo Drop – LiveCosts.com
Livecosts increases a construction companies profits by exposing and analysing their profit costs in real time. Through highly sophisticated OCR & machine learning the platform as collects and manages key supplier material, plant & machinery costs. This is key the companies phase two plan when it directly links suppliers to live projects.
2020 Venture Conference – Lessons from Veteran Entrepreneurs
It pays to have experience when leading early stage technology startups, especially in such a specialized sector as Construction. In this session we’ll gain insights from successful & seasoned entrepreneurs. They’ll share their successes, struggles, and key lessons learned from their time in the sector.
March Robots and Advanced Equipment Call: Connecting the Digital Twin and Job Site Robotics with DPR, Dusty Robotics, and Williams Robotics
Walker Harris, President at Williams Robotics, gives us an inside look at how they are using robotics in their factory and Henning Roedel, Innovation Leader at DPR Construction, joins forces with Philipp Herget, CTO at Dusty Robotics, to deliver a case study on their pilot project together.
Case Studies: DPR Construction and Dusty Robotics
Henning Roedel, Western Region Innovation Leader at DPR Construction, and Phil Herget, Co-Founder and CTO at Dusty Robotics, come together in this presentation to deliver a case study of their partnership on a residence hall project for UC Davis.
Robots for Homebuilding
Walker Harris, President at Williams Robotics, gives us an inside look at how they are using robotics in their factories to quickly, and accurately, construct wood framed walls.
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