Accenture to invest $3 billion in data and AI practice over 3 years

Accenture said it has expanded its data and AI practice to offer industry solutions and pre-built models.

US-based IT firm Accenture will invest $3 billion into its data and AI practice as well as double the number of AI talent to 80,000, the company said on June 13.

At a time when more clients are asking to use generative AI and IT companies are coming up with AI-based solutions, Accenture said it has expanded its data and AI practice to offer industry solutions and pre-built models. The company said it will focus on diagnostic, predictive and generative AI.

Accenture Technology Group Chief Executive Paul Daugherty claimed that AI will be a mega trend over the next decade, which would transform industries, companies and the way we live and work. According to him, generative AI will transform 40 percent of all working hours.

The company also launched its AI Navigator for Enterprise platform to “guide AI strategy, use cases, rigorous business cases, decision-making and responsible policies”.

Similar to Infosys’ Topaz offering, Accenture said that the new AI Navigator for Enterprise is a generative AI-based platform that will help clients “define business cases, make decisions, navigate AI journeys, choose architectures and understand algorithms”.

Additionally, Accenture also announced a Center for Advanced AI, which it said will help maximise the value of generative and other AI. On its plans to invest in talent, Accenture said that the move to increase its AI headcount to a total of 80k will be through a mix of hiring, acquisitions, and training.

In a statement, Chief Executive Officer Julie Sweet said there is “unprecedented interest in all areas of AI”.

“Companies that build a strong foundation of AI by adopting and scaling it now, where the technology is mature and delivers clear value, will be better positioned to reinvent, compete and achieve new levels of performance,” she added.