Technology service provider Accenture has unveiled its plans for a substantial investment in the artificial intelligence (AI) sector, joining other companies in embracing the industry.
In this line, the company has committed $3 billion over three years, specifically focusing on enhancing its data and AI practice to assist clients in harnessing the power of AI.
Accenture’s CEO, Julie Sweet, highlighted AI’s significant interest and emphasized that the investment aims to help clients transform their interests into concrete and valuable outcomes in a press release on June 13.
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“There is unprecedented interest in all areas of AI, and the substantial investment we are making in our Data & AI practice will help our clients move from interest to action to value, and in a responsible way with clear business cases,” said Sweet.
At the same time, the company acknowledged that AI is a growing sector and will likely become a mega-trend.
“Over the next decade, AI will be a mega-trend, transforming industries, companies, and the way we live and work, as generative AI transforms 40% of all working hours,” said Paul Daugherty, the group chief executive.
Areas of investment
With the investment, the company noted its plans to pump money into doubling its AI talent to 80,000 professionals through a combination of hiring, acquisitions, and training. Furthermore, the funds will see Accenture forge new partnerships and strengthen existing relationships within its cloud, data, and AI ecosystems.
It is worth noting that Accenture holds over 1,450 patents and pending patent applications worldwide in relation to AI. With numerous client solutions at scale, spanning industries from marketing to retail and security to manufacturing, Accenture has attempted to integrate AI into its service delivery approach.
Indeed, Accenture now joins a growing list of companies that are increasingly turning their focus to AI. For instance, chipmaker Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) reached a $1 trillion market capitalization, benefiting from the increased adoption of AI.
Salesforce (NYSE: CRM), the owner of Slack, also introduced its AI Cloud, a platform that enables sales staff and marketers to efficiently generate personalized communications tailored to their customers’ needs.
AI industry to hit $1 trillion
In the meantime, a Finbold report in early May indicated that AI would likely become a trillion-dollar industry in the next five years. According to the report, the sector will likely reach $1.87 trillion by 2030.
Its worth noting that OpenAI accelerated the focus on AI following the success of the ChatGPT tool. As competition in the sector grows, Google also unveiled its generative AI platform dubbed Bard. Notably, the tool is currently in its trial phase.
