Autodesk Acquires Spacemaker: Offers Architects AI-powered Generative Design to Explore Best Urban Design Options

SAN RAFAEL, Calif., Nov. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Autodesk University – Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK) today announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Spacemaker for $240 million net of cash.

Based in Oslo, Norway, Spacemaker uses cloud-based, artificial intelligence (AI), and generative design to help architects, urban designers, and real estate developers make more informed early-stage design decisions faster and enables improved opportunities for sustainability from the start. By evaluating the best options from the outset, Spacemaker helps architects maximize their clients' long-term property investments. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close during Autodesk's fourth quarter of fiscal 2021, ending January 31, 2021.

The acquisition of Spacemaker provides Autodesk with a powerful platform to drive modern, user-centric automation - powered by AI - and accelerate outcome-based design capabilities for architects.

With Spacemaker, design professionals can rapidly create and evaluate options for a building or urban development. With AI as a partner to the architect, the Spacemaker platform enables users to quickly generate, optimize, and iterate on design alternatives, all while considering design criteria and data like terrain, maps, wind, lighting, traffic, zoning, etc.  Spacemaker quickly returns design alternatives optimized for the full potential of the site. This leads to better outcomes from the start and allows designers to focus on the creative part of their professional work.

"Spacemaker is a lesson in the power of insights and automation, giving designers the ability to create and test urban design ideas in minutes," says Andrew Anagnost, CEO and President of Autodesk. "With two billion more people expected to call our planet home by 2050, speed of design and sustainability in urban planning must be priorities. Spacemaker technology offers a fundamental shift in how we imagine and build cities to keep people and the planet healthy."

"Our values are always reflected in the business decisions we make. The acquisition of Spacemaker demonstrates our commitment to the advancement of architects and the ability of designers to change the world for the better," says Amy Bunszel, Senior Vice President for AEC Design Solutions at Autodesk. "Paired with our teams and complementary technology, Spacemaker's transformational solution will empower designers to make more informed design decisions and help solve some of the greatest challenges ahead of us all."

"Four years ago, we set out on a mission to help design, engineering and project teams reinvent the development of more sustainable cities and neighborhoods worldwide while maximizing the investment," said Havard Haukeland, CEO and co-founder of Spacemaker. "Autodesk shares our goal to create a healthier planet for everyone and is uniquely positioned to more rapidly place our product in the hands of planning teams everywhere. This is a proud milestone for our team and those who supported us from the start."

"Real-estate developers in Norway are at the forefront of the digital transformation in the building sector, resulting in increased project profitability, and critically, improving our ability to combat climate change with more sustainable real estate developments," said Daniel Kjørberg Siraj, CEO of OBOS. "Game-changers such as Spacemaker are part of the solution, and it is critical to give them the scale that they need in order to be impactful. As an early investor and adopter, I am incredibly pleased to see Spacemaker joining Autodesk and am looking forward to seeing Norwegian-born technology transform the industry at a global scale."

For more background on the acquisition, please see the accompanying PDF here.

About Autodesk
Autodesk makes software for people who make things. If you've ever driven a high-performance car, admired a towering skyscraper, used a smartphone, or watched a great film, chances are you've experienced what millions of Autodesk customers are doing with our software. Autodesk gives you the power to make anything. For more information visit autodesk.com or follow @autodesk.

Autodesk University Reaches Customers Worldwide  
Autodesk University (AU) is a series of conferences and an online learning destination focused on inspiring, challenging and energizing Autodesk software users, partners, and industry leaders about the future of design, engineering and construction. Autodesk University 2020 is the company's first global digital conference experience that virtually brings together more than 90k innovators from over 190 countries to explore new ways of imagining, designing and making. AU also offers free year-round access to learning content, professional development, and inspirational industry talks from the AU conference events. More information is available at the Autodesk University website, or by following @AutodeskU #AU2020. 

Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including statements regarding: the planned Spacemaker acquisition and the timing thereof, the impact of the acquisition on Autodesk's business performance; the impact of the transaction on Autodesk's and Spacemaker's products and services capabilities, customers, and partners; and Autodesk's strategic priorities.

Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include the following: Autodesk's ability to successfully integrate Spacemaker's business; costs related to the acquisition; whether the architecture and urban planning industries evolve as anticipated; the competitive environment in the architecture and urban planning industries and competitive responses to the acquisition; Autodesk and Spacemaker's success developing new products or modifying existing products and the degree to which these gain market acceptance; general market and business conditions; unanticipated impact of accounting for acquisitions; and the ability to satisfy the conditions to the completion of the acquisition on the anticipated schedule, or at all.

Further information on potential factors that could affect the financial results of Autodesk are included in Autodesk's Form 10-K and subsequent Forms 10-Q, which are on file with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Autodesk disclaims any obligation to update the forward-looking statements provided to reflect events that occur or circumstances that exist after the date on which they were made.

Autodesk and the Autodesk logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., and/or its subsidiaries and/or affiliates in the USA and/or other countries. All other brand names, product names or trademarks belong to their respective holders. Autodesk reserves the right to alter product and services offerings, and specifications and pricing at any time without notice, and is not responsible for typographical or graphical errors that may appear in this document.

SOURCE Autodesk, Inc.