ESR Labs. Image: Accenture
Accenture will acquire Munich-based ESR Labs, with the aim of boosting the company’s ability to work with automotive firms.
On Tuesday (10 March), Accenture announced that it has agreed to acquire ESR Labs, a Munich-based company that develops embedded software for German car brands and suppliers.
Accenture said the deal will expand its capabilities to help automotive clients “drive greater value from software”.
With the acquisition, Accenture will take on the experience and skills of ESR’s 130 software engineers and software architects, who write the code running on the electronic units that control a vehicle’s functions.
ESR Labs
ESR Labs, which was founded in 2012, offers solutions that enable the code to be updated remotely, helping clients to develop connected car and mobility services. This can be used for developments in car-sharing and research into autonomous driving technology.
The start-up will join Accenture Industry X.0, which is the arm of the multinational that uses digital technologies to improve how companies design, engineer and manufacture products and services.
In a statement, Accenture said: “ESR Labs will join forces with the two other German acquisitions for Industry X.0: strategic design consultancy Designaffairs and technology consultancy Zielpuls. Together they will develop mobility services for carmakers as well as smart connected solutions for medical technology, industrial equipment and high-tech companies.”
The start-up’s future with Accenture
Andrew Smith, managing director for Accenture Industry X.0 in Germany, said: “Manufacturing companies need to put software at the core of their business. They also need to adopt and nurture a technology company-like ‘pure developer culture’. ESR Labs will put us in a great position to help our clients accelerate their plans to do just this.”
Accenture global automotive lead and senior managing director Axel Schmidt added: “The automotive industry is at a tipping point. Globally, car sales are declining. Customers are demanding more convenient and customised mobility services.
“Whoever meets these demands best will win mobility in the future. With ESR Labs, we can help our clients in the automotive sector embrace and implement new technologies much faster.”
Wolfgang Köcher, CEO of ESR Labs, said joining Accenture will allow the company to “create groundbreaking technology solutions for clients faster than ever” and “offer new opportunities” for its staff.
The news comes after Accenture acquired Dutch product design agency VanBerlo in February, another purchase made to strengthen the Industry X.0 portfolio.
