Deal, which is worth a reported $390m, has raised eyebrows across the AEC industry
Global infrastructure engineering giant Aecom has acquired Norwegian AI start-up Consigli, in a deal worth 4 billion NOK (approx US $390m), according to Norwegian business newspaper Dagens Næringsliv (DN).
Prior to the acquisition, Aecom and Consigli had worked together on several projects. Consigli founder and CEO Janne Aas-Jakobsen will take up the role of head of AI engineering at Aecom.
Consigli founder and CEO Janne Aas-Jakobsen spoke at NXT BLD 2025.
Watch the full presentation here
The acquisition marks a notable shift in the AEC software landscape, where startups are typically snapped up by established software vendors rather than their customers. It suggests that Aecom views Consigli’s technology — and its engineering talent — as a strategic differentiator.
Consigli brands itself as “The Autonomous Engineer”, an AI agent for space analysis, unit optimisation, automated MEP loadings, level 3 modelling, report generation, plant room optimisation, tender documents de-risking, O&M docs and more. The company claims its technology gives reductions in engineering time of up to 90%. It is not yet clear if Consigli will remain a commercial entity or will only be for Aecom’s internal use.
For Aecom, the deal addresses a growing battleground: the convergence of construction services and embedded predictive software. With project margins under pressure and clients demanding real-time data-driven insights, owning a targeted AI layer would offer a differentiator
From Consigli’s perspective, being part of a global infrastructure services business opens access to large-scale projects and the global engineering-delivery pipeline. And, if DN’s reported figure of $390 million is correct, it’s the exit many start-ups in this space can only dream of.
The acquisition has raised eyebrows across the AEC industry. Software vendors weighing potential startup targets may now feel added pressure, and losing one to a customer could spark a frenzied wave of negotiations. Meanwhile, other AECO firms may feel compelled to behave more like tech companies — or risk being pushed into commodity territory.
Consigli was approached for comment but did not respond by the time of publication.
Main image caption: On stage at NXT BLD 2025: Consigli founder and CEO Janne Aas-Jakobsen will now be Head of AI Engineering at Aecom
