Two months after announcing massive staff cuts, consulting firm Accenture pledges to spend $3 billion on developing AI expertise and credentials, through hiring, acquisitions and more. Credit: YinYang / Getty Images IT consulting and services giant Accenture announced today that it would spend $3 billion on assets, startups, talent and partnerships aimed at staking out a leading position in the fields of generative and predictive AI. Beyond the raw investment of money, Accenture said that its data and AI practice will double in size, from 40,000 to 80,000, “through a mix of hiring, acquisitions and training.” The company will also create startup accelerators for AI readiness, focusing on 19 different industries, and will look to generate pre-built models suitable for use in those industries. The move comes two months after the company said it would lay off 19,000 staffers, or 2.5% of its workforce, to reduce costs amid uncertain macroeconomic conditions. However, about half those cuts, Accenture said, would be from back-office staff involved in nonbillable work, and the company did specify at the time that “we continue to hire, especially to support our strategic growth priorities.” Accenture also announced a new AI Navigator for Enterprise product, which it describes as a system to help users make business decisions about AI, create business cases for its use and understand the type of modeling and algorithms required to accomplish particular tasks. (The product is, itself, powered by generative 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,” said Julie Sweet, Accenture’s chair and CEO. “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 was also eager to talk up the company’s history in AI, noting that AI is already used in platforms like myWizard process automation, SynOps for business operations intelligence, and myNav for cloud architecture design. The company was also working on a responsible AI framework six years ago, which, it said, outlines “rigorous” guidelines for the use of AI, and said that it’s already working on generative AI projects with clients as diverse as hotel groups and judicial systems. Accenture isn’t the first consultancy firm to announce major investments into AI. PWC stated in April that they would spend $1 billion on a partnership with Microsoft and OpenAI to adapt the latter’s generative AI technology for use in tax and auditing services, according to the Wall Street Journal. And Bain and Company announced a similar AI deal with OpenAI in February, with Coca-Cola as the first client. Related content brandpost Sponsored by Canon NZ Why your business needs a cloud-based print management solution If your business isn’t using a cloud-based print management solution, you’re missing out on a range of efficiency, environmental and security benefits. By Canon New Zealand May 02, 2024 5 mins Managed Cloud Services opinion The cyber pandemic: AI deepfakes and the future of security and identity verification Attackers have seen huge success using AI deepfakes for injection and presentation attacks – which means we’ll only see more of them. Advanced technology can help prevent (not just detect them). By Aaron Painter May 02, 2024 5 mins Artificial Intelligence Security brandpost Sponsored by Cisco Transform the modern data center: From today to the future Embrace agility, elasticity, and cognitive intelligence capabilities for a data center strategy that’s performance-ready and sustainable for the future. By Murali Gandluru May 02, 2024 4 mins Networking brandpost Sponsored by TCS and Microsoft 5 keys to optimizing ROI on your Cloud Center of Excellence 5 keys to optimizing ROI on your Cloud Center of Excellence CoE adoption is on the rise – but success means evaluating relevance, staying connected, building a strong team, continuous innovation, and transforming culture. By Tata Consultancy Services May 02, 2024 2 mins Manufacturing Industry Cloud Computing PODCASTS VIDEOS RESOURCES EVENTS SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe