Tech

$27 billion Autodesk just acquired the Google and Sequoia-backed construction-startup PlanGrid

Tracy Young PlanGrid
PlanGrid CEO Tracy Young just sold her company for $875 million. Steve Jennings/Getty
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Autodesk, the $27 billion software company best known for its architecture program, AutoCAD, will acquire PlanGrid for $875 million, the company announced Tuesday.

The transaction is expected to close during Autodesk's fourth quarter of fiscal 2019, which ends on January 31, according to the company.

Founded in 2011, PlanGrid is a GV (formerly Google Ventures) and Sequoia Capital-backed construction-productivity tool. The startup has since raised a total of $69 million. A Series B in 2015 valued the company at $419 million, according to PitchBook. 

PlanGrid is primarily mobile-first and lets teams work in real time from both in offices and at construction job sites to update project plans and field reports.

Autodesk said in its statement it intends to integrate PlanGrid's software and its Autodesk Revit and Autodesk BIM 360 construction-management platform.

"At PlanGrid, we have a relentless focus on empowering construction workers to build as productively as possible," said Tracy Young, PlanGrid cofounder and CEO, in a statement.

"One of the first steps to improving construction productivity is the adoption of digital workflows with centralized data. PlanGrid has excelled at building beautiful, simple field collaboration software, while Autodesk has focused on connecting design to construction. Together, we can drive greater productivity and predictability on the job site," she said.

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Becky Peterson was formerly a tech features correspondent focused on long-form profiles and investigations into the most interesting people and companies at the intersection of technology and finance.She's broken news on major tech stories including Palantir's work on Project Maven, Peter Thiel's $18 million estate in Miami (which was once featured on MTV's 'The Real World'), Jeffrey Epstein's tour of SpaceX, and Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi's insistence that employees take "the D."Previously, she covered enterprise tech and tech investment banking with a focus on M&A, IPO and venture capital deals in San Francisco. She graduated from New York University with a master's degree in media, culture and communication with an emphasis on technology and society. ExpertiseSilicon Valley, Venture Capital, Investment Banking, Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine MaxwellPopular articlesInside the turmoil at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, where employees say divorce, Epstein, and vaccines have left some staffers polishing their résumésThe secret life of Ian Osborne, the shadowy 38-year-old cofounder of Chamath Palihapitiya's SPAC who has built the ultimate black book of billionairesSilicon Valley VCs are at war with the 'far left radicals' running CaliforniaInside the life of Ghislaine Maxwell's secret husband, a once-high-flying tech entrepreneur backed by Eric Schmidt who is now a central figure in one of the country's most high-profile legal casesRent the Runway CEO Jennifer Hyman, one of the most successful female founders, is fighting to save her companyJeffrey Epstein set Elon Musk's brother up with a girlfriend in effort to get close to the Tesla founder, sources sayA drunken late-night assault allegation has roiled the secretive world of Mark Zuckerberg's private family office. Personal aides are speaking out about claims that household staff endured sexual harassment and racism from their colleagues.