Arcadis expands Autodesk tie-up to embed AI in engineering workflows
Arcadis has announced an expanded collaboration with Autodesk, aligning the engineering and consultancy group's domain expertise with Autodesk's Design and Make platform and its embedded AI tooling. The agreement is intended to accelerate the adoption of artificial intelligence, connected data and digital workflows across built and natural environment projects, with the Amsterdam-listed firm emphasising that human judgment remains central to delivery.
The partnership connects Arcadis' own Model Context Protocol (MCP) capabilities with Autodesk Assistant, a tool that the companies say can interpret geometry, engineering intent and project history. The integration is designed to let Arcadis embed its proprietary knowledge, standards and client guidance directly inside AI-powered workflows, while retaining ownership of what it builds on that layer.
What the deal involves
One concrete output highlighted in the release is a joint project called See Through Walls, which uses AI, sensor data and predictive modelling to infer the condition of materials concealed within existing buildings. The use case targets material reuse, circularity and decarbonisation goals, areas that are growing in commercial importance as European clients face tighter regulatory obligations around embodied carbon and waste.
The companies also cited an automation initiative already live across Arcadis operations in North America and Europe, where quality-review cycles have been reduced from five days to approximately half a day. Arcadis did not name the specific project type or client sector where that gain was recorded, nor did it disclose the financial terms of the expanded collaboration.
Heather Polinsky, chief executive of Arcadis, said: "By combining our expertise with AI, data and digital capabilities, we can help our teams work smarter, more efficiently and with greater accuracy, giving them more time to focus on the complex challenges our clients need us to solve."
Market context
Autodesk has been deepening its AI layer across the AEC (architecture, engineering and construction) software stack for several years, and the Autodesk Assistant positions the company against a broader wave of AI-native construction-tech startups as well as enterprise rivals such as Bentley Systems and Hexagon. For large engineering consultancies, the strategic question is whether to build proprietary AI tooling, rely on platform partners, or pursue a hybrid approach. Arcadis is clearly opting for the hybrid model, maintaining its own MCP layer while running it on Autodesk's infrastructure.
The collaboration also reflects a wider pattern in the professional services sector, where firms are seeking to productise institutional knowledge at scale. Engineering consultancies hold large bodies of project data, asset performance records and sector-specific standards that, if structured correctly, can substantially improve AI output quality. That accumulated knowledge base is increasingly viewed as a competitive moat, provided firms can operationalise it faster than rivals.
Regulatory read-across
The EU AI Act's obligations for general-purpose AI systems will require transparency and risk-classification steps for AI deployed in consequential infrastructure decisions, which describes precisely the use cases Arcadis is targeting. Firms adopting AI in safety-critical design and asset management contexts will need to demonstrate auditability and human-oversight mechanisms, a requirement that aligns with Arcadis' stated emphasis on keeping human expertise at the centre of outcomes. How that obligation is apportioned between a platform provider such as Autodesk and the deploying consultancy has not yet been clarified by regulators, and is likely to become a material compliance question as AI tools move from pilots into standard project delivery.
Arcadis reported gross revenues of €4.9 billion for 2025 and operates across more than 30 countries. The company said its wider digital ecosystem includes additional technology partners alongside Autodesk, though none were named in this release.