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The global IT services giant plans to double its AI-focused staff to 80,000 through a mix of hiring, acquisitions and training.
Accenture has announced today (13 June) that it will spend $3bn in AI over the next three years to help its clients make the most of the proliferating technology.
“There is unprecedented interest in all areas of AI, and the substantial investment we are making in our data and AI practice will help our clients move from interest to action to value, and in a responsible way with clear business cases,” said Julie Sweet, CEO of Accenture.
Through this investment, the multinational IT consulting giant plans to double its AI-focused staff to a whopping 80,000 through a mix of hiring, acquisitions and training.
For scale, Accenture employs 738,000 people globally.
Sweet argues that companies that “build a strong foundation of AI by adopting and scaling it now” will be better positioned to “reinvent, compete and achieve new levels of performance”.
“Our clients have complex environments, and at a time when the technology is changing rapidly, our deep understanding of ecosystem solutions allows us to help them navigate quickly and cost-effectively to make smart decisions.”
Accenture also launched a new generative AI-based platform called AI Navigator for Enterprise that it says will help clients “define business cases, make decisions, navigate AI journeys, choose architectures and understand algorithms and models to drive value responsibly”.
It is also poised to create accelerators for data and AI readiness across 19 industries as well as pre-built industry and functional models that take advantage of new generative AI capabilities.
Paul Daugherty, group CEO of Accenture Technology, said that the way we live and work will change “as generative AI transforms 40pc of all working hours”.
“Our expanded data and AI practice… will help our clients harness AI’s full potential to reshape their strategy, technology and ways of working, driving innovation and value responsibly and faster than ever before.”
The announcements come less than two months after the firm said it is cutting around 2.5pc of its total workforce, which could result in around 19,000 job losses, as part of a series of cost-saving measures. It employs more than 6,500 people in Ireland.
Updated, 12.35pm, 14 June 2023: A previous version of this article stated that Accenture is headquartered in Ireland. It was amended to reflect the fact that the company is a multinational without headquarters.
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