Founder & CEO of Atlanta-based Flashtract Talks Through Acquisition Decision

The latest news from the Atlanta startup acquisition front comes from the growing construction technology space.

Flashtract, a software startup for construction billing automation, has been acquired by Trimble (NASDAQ: TRMB). The public technology company focuses on surveying, construction, agriculture, public safety, and mapping.

We last covered Flashtract after the B2B startup raised its $15 million Series A in the early part of 2022. Since officially launching in 2020, Flashtract has made a name for itself in the construction industry as a platform that streamlines payments and important compliance information between general contractors and subcontractors.

Flashtract's platform will now integrate into Trimble's suite of products.

"Adding the ability to manage these workflows with subs electronically through Trimble Pay helps contractors improve compliance and keep projects on schedule and budget by reducing the two to three days of manual work per month by project managers or accountants,”  Lawrence Smith, vice president of construction management solutions at Trimble, said in a statement.

BEHIND THE FLASHTRACT ACQUISITION

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. But Blair Chenault, Flashtract’s founder and CEO, told Hypepotamus that all 24 employees will join Trimble to “[ensure] a seamless integration.”

Chenault said that Flashtract started partnering with Trimble in 2022. The team started seriously discussing the idea of an acquisition in late 2023.

“We always knew [an acquisition] was a good possibility but when we started talking to the Trimble team," Chenault added. "We knew it would be a great fit. Our best customers used their ERP software and there was a gap in their product suite that our software could fill. Additionally, our software was already integrated with their ERP so we already knew that the products worked well together."

THE STATE OF CONSTRUCTION TECH

Since COVID, the Southeast’s construction technology sector has seen a rush of funding and acquisition headlines. Notably, Atlanta-based sustainable construction startup cove.tool raised $30 million in its Series B round and North Carolina’s Prescient closed a $190 million round. North Carolina-based Higharc closed a $21 million Series A and Florida-based Togal.AI raised $5 million in 2022. Construction software giant Procore also acquired New Orleans-based LevelSet in a $500 million deal in October of 2021.

The industry has gone through its fair share of challenges over the last four years as well. Supply chain-related complications stalled building efforts, and high interest rates hit the housing market throughout 2023.

Chenault said he’s also seen the construction industry work through a huge push toward technology adoption.

“This becomes a double-edged sword though,” he told Hypepotamus. “It is great because the industry is gaining efficiencies and reducing their risks across multiple areas of their business. The downside is that there are now so many solutions, that the customers are having to learn how to buy and implement technology successfully. As with any adoption curve, this can be a challenge. We are starting to see a market push for consolidation of products/and services to reduce point solutions. This is why over the past year we launched multiple products and services so that we could solve multiple problems in one solution.”