In the latest major consolidation move in the busy construction technology sector, DroneDeploy, a cloud platform that allows contractors and other customers to manage the data generated by their drones and other reality-capture tools, announced Oct. 12 that it will acquire StructionSite, a major provider of ground-based reality capture.
The acquisition will unify two market-leading firms in the world of construction reality capture. DroneDeploy has customers in 190 countries that have captured more than 300 million acres and 1.7 million sites mapped to date from a total of 7.9 million drones, small planes and other types of aerial vehicles. Since StructionSite launched in 2016, its customers have used its handheld and hardhat-mounted reality capture technology to capture imagery of over $190 billion worth of construction projects by more than 500 contractors.
Both firms also offer software tools to organize and browse the reality capture imagery generated by drones and other devices, pairing it to design plans and other construction documents. The rapid growth of the reality capture market over the last decade has provided contractors and other project stakeholders with more up-to-date documentation of their jobsites.
DroneDeploy said in a statement it is making the acquisition to allow its customers in construction, energy and other industries to deploy aerial drones, ground-based robots and handheld 360° cameras to document their work sites. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The transaction is expected to close by the end of October.
"Companies across industries have been asking for a unified view of their sites: a single platform to document, inspect and measure the exterior and interior of their assets and infrastructure,” said Mike Winn, CEO and co-founder of DroneDeploy in a statement.
StructionSite said it looks forward to bringing its robotic and other ground-based reality capture services to DroneDeploy's platform.
"Together, we can accelerate StructionSite’s product roadmap through an integrated platform that will enable some of the world’s largest construction companies to deploy autonomous aerial and ground robots to deliver efficiency and cost savings at scale,” said Matt Daly, CEO and co-founder of StructionSite, in a statement.
