On October 9, 2026, Hexagon announced it had signed an agreement to acquire Rocscience, a Canadian publisher of geotechnical modeling software, for an enterprise value of 535 million US dollars (USD). The novelty lies in the announced integration between sensors that monitor the ground and software that simulates the behavior of soils, slopes, tunnels, dams, or foundations.
For construction and public works (BTP), the stakes go beyond the financial transaction. When the ground of a construction site becomes a continuous source of data, safety decisions are no longer based solely on a one-time report. In Libreville, a site manager on a road in a wetland area must know who understands, validates, and assumes the alerts.
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What is it, concretely?
In a civil engineering project, the ground is never just a support. It can settle, slide, crack, or react to rain. Until now, many decisions relied on geotechnical studies conducted at specific times, followed by observations from teams. Hexagon's announcement aims to connect real-time ground measurements, such as sensors or radars, with calculation models capable of anticipating the evolution of a risk.
This is not a product test, but a signed acquisition agreement. Hexagon's press release also states that Rocscience generates over 80% of its revenue in the form of Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) and that its software is used in approximately 125 countries. These figures come from the company and do not constitute independent verification.
Concrete case: what to do and what not to do
Questions to Ask Before Acting
- When an alert from a model leads to stopping, modifying, or continuing a construction project, who bears professional and legal responsibility?
- Are the field data used by the tool reliable, up-to-date, geolocated, and validated by a professional?
- Does the contract specify where the data is stored, who accesses it, and how it can be exported?
- Do the teams distinguish between a real measurement, a prediction, and an engineering hypothesis?
- What happens if the construction site's internet connection is unstable or cut off during a critical phase?
- Does the project owner clearly accept the use of digital models in safety decisions?
- Are national data protection and privacy rules for public projects integrated from the purchase stage?
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