Last week, US-based software giant Autodesk announced the acquisition of Norway-based urban development startup Spacemaker.ai for a reported $240 million. The all-cash-deal is the latest in a string of acquisitions that repeatedly underline Autodesk’s determination to drive the digital evolution in the infamously antiquated construction sector. For a company that also serves the engineering, manufacturing, media, education, and entertainment industries, recent acquisitions demonstrate a focus on using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to change the way we design and construct our built environment. “This is something strategically we’ve been working towards, both with the products we make internally with the capabilities we roll out that are more cutting edge, and also our initiative when we look at companies we’re interested in acquiring,” said Andrew Anagnost, CEO, and president of Autodesk. “We’ve been watching this space for a while; the application that Spacemaker has built we would characterize it, from our terminology, as ‘generative […]