Amid uptick in M&A, OpenSpace acquires progress tracking firm

Dive Brief:

• OpenSpace, a construction technology firm focused on reality capture, announced that it has entered a deal to acquire Disperse, a progress tracking startup, according to a Tuesday news release. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.
• The move comes subsequent to a partnership between the two firms, announced in June, for an offering called OpenSpace Progress Tracking, which uses artificial intelligence and visual scans to assess a job’s headway. The acquisition follows strong customer adoption of the tool, according to the news release.
• The combination will help OpenSpace strengthen its spatial AI capabilities and give contractors a deeper understanding of construction projects, according to the release.

Dive Insight:

The pairing of the two firm’s tools helped Mentor, Ohio-based Cleveland Construction bridge the connection between the jobsite and office quickly. 

“The speed at which [OpenSpace Progress Tracking] was implemented and the speed at which we started to get real accurate data back was pretty astounding to our executive team,” said Elliot Christiansen, senior vice president of operations at Cleveland, in the release. “Because the data was accurate we could have effective two-way conversations with our field team and get answers quickly, without having to play twenty questions with them like we used to.”

Christiansen said Cleveland has now deployed the tech across its portfolio.  

OpenSpace’s offering pairs 360-degree visual capture with verified progress analytics and unites documentation, analysis and insights into one ecosystem, according to the release. It can be used to validate work-in-place for billing, identify schedule risks and help inter-trade coordination. 

“With Disperse now part of OpenSpace, builders get real intelligence that is fast, accurate, and proven in the field,” said Jeevan Kalanithi, CEO and co-founder of OpenSpace, in the release. 

The year has been busy for OpenSpace — prior to the recent acquisition and June partnership with Disperse, the San Francisco-based firm revealed OpenSpace Air in May, which allows contractors to gather reality-captured data on a single platform.

OpenSpace’s acquisition comes amid a spate of M&A activity in the construction industry this past month, both on the tech and the building sides. On Oct. 16, project management solution provider Buildots announced that it had acquired Genda, a workforce and safety management platform. 

On the construction side, California builder Webcor made a deal to acquire GCON, a construction management firm with mission critical, data center and semiconductor expertise. Earlier in the month, Zachry Construction acquired Crescent Constructors, a Texas firm with expertise in water projects in a bid to capitalize on the burgeoning sector.  

And among larger contractors, Canadian infrastructure giant WSP reportedly made a multibillion-dollar bid for Dallas-based Jacobs.