Dive Brief:
- OpenSpace, a construction technology company focused on capturing reality, announced that it does signed an agreement to acquire Dispersea progress-tracking startup, according to a Tuesday press release. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
- The move follows a partnership between the two companies, announced in June, for an offering called OpenSpace Progress Tracking, which uses artificial intelligence and visual scans to assess a job’s progress. The acquisition follows strong customer adoption of the tool, according to the press release.
- According to the statement, the combination will help OpenSpace strengthen its space AI capabilities and provide contractors with a deeper understanding of construction projects.
Diving knowledge:
Combining the two companies’ tools helped Mentor, Ohio-based Cleveland Construction quickly establish the connection between the job site and the office.
“The speed at which [OpenSpace Progress Tracking] It was implemented and the speed at which we started getting real, accurate data back was pretty amazing to our executive team,” said Elliot Christiansen, Cleveland’s senior vice president of operations, in the release. “Because the data was accurate, we were able to have effective two-way conversations with our field team and get answers quickly, without having to ask them twenty questions like before.”
Christiansen said Cleveland has now rolled out the technology across its portfolio.
OpenSpace’s offering combines 360-degree visual capture with verified progress analysis and unites documentation, analysis and insights into an ecosystem, according to the release. It can be used to validate on-site work for billing, identify schedule risks, and aid interprofessional coordination.
“With Disperse now part of OpenSpace, builders get real intelligence that’s fast, accurate and field-proven,” Jeevan Kalanithi, CEO and co-founder of OpenSpace, said in the statement.
It’s been a busy year for OpenSpace, ahead of the recent acquisition and partnership in June with San Francisco-based firm Disperse. revealed OpenSpace Air in Maywhich allows contractors to collect data captured from reality in a single platform.
The OpenSpace acquisition comes amid a flurry of M&A activity in the construction industry in the past month, both in technology and construction. On October 16, project management solutions provider Buildots announced that it had acquired Gendaa workforce and safety management platform.
On the construction side, California builder Webcor entered into an agreement to acquire GCONa construction management company with mission-critical, data center and semiconductor expertise. At the beginning of the month, Zachry Construction acquired Crescent Constructorsa Texas company with experience in water projects aiming to capitalize on the growing sector.
And among the biggest contractors, the Canadian infrastructure giant WSP reportedly made a multimillion-dollar bid for Dallas-based Jacobs.
