Accenture Bolsters AI Capabilities with Strategic Acquisitions and Investments

Accenture Acquires Halfspace to Bolster AI Capabilities in the Nordic Region

Accenture (NYSE: ACN) has acquired Halfspace, a leading and multi-award-winning -based AI company that helps organizations leverage and scale AI to make better , more informed decisions, faster. The acquisition enhances Accenture's AI capabilities and talent in the Nordic region and across . With the addition of Halfspace, Accenture will extend the into the Nordics, focused on helping clients capture and create value from AI. Founded in 2015, Halfspace develops AI and generative AI solutions and products that drive value creation by streamlining complex business workflows and uses advanced analytics and data science to transform data into actionable insights. Halfspace has delivered more than 100 data and AI projects to large Nordic organizations and the acquisition will expand Accenture's footprint in the market. 'AI adoption is accelerating across the enterprise faster than any prior technology. Our research shows that 69% of executives believe it brings new urgency to reinvention,' said , Accenture's lead for the Nordic region. 'As one of the largest pure-play AI companies in , Halfspace expands and complements our AI capabilities and talent and enhances our ability to help our clients benefit fully from the potential of AI.' Halfspace adds close to 80 highly qualified AI practitioners to Accenture's Nordic AI practice, with highly relevant backgrounds in strategy consulting and globally renowned academic institutions. The Halfspace professionals have deep knowledge in physics, engineering, mathematics, statistics, operations research, computer science, chemistry, economics, biology, and design. The company also has strong ecosystem relationships with leading AI platform companies including , Microsoft and NVIDIA. 'AI innovation continues to grow at an unprecedented pace, but many organizations need support to effectively scale the technology across their organizations,' said , Accenture's Data & AI lead for EMEA. 'With the addition of Halfspace, we are expanding the footprint of our in , strengthening our ability to deliver impactful AI solutions to our clients in the region, helping them drive new levels of value and growth.' , CEO of Halfspace, added, 'For the past ten years, we've been committed to delivering high quality AI across industries to drive lasting value for our clients, while attracting the brightest and most talented people. By combining forces with Accenture, we can further scale our solutions and industry reach, delivering even greater results for our clients across the Nordic region, while creating exciting new opportunities for our people. We are proud to support the expansion of the into the Nordics, putting a laser focus on delivering AI excellence.' Accenture is a leading global professional services company that helps the world's leading businesses, governments and other organizations build their digital core, optimize their operations, accelerate revenue growth and enhance citizen services-creating tangible value at speed and scale. We are a talent- and innovation-led company with approximately 799,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries. Technology is at the core of change today, and we are one of the world's leaders in helping drive that change, with strong ecosystem relationships. We combine our strength in technology and leadership in cloud, data and AI with unmatched industry experience, functional expertise and global delivery capability. Our broad range of services, solutions and assets across Strategy & Consulting, Technology, Operations, Industry X and Song, together with our culture of shared success and commitment to creating 360-degree value, enable us to help our clients reinvent and build trusted, lasting relationships. We measure our success by the 360-degree value we create for our clients, each other, our shareholders, partners and communities. Visit us at accenture.com. Forward-Looking Statements Except for the historical information and discussions contained herein, statements in this news release may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as 'may,' 'will,' 'should,' 'likely,' 'anticipates,' 'aspires,' 'expects,' 'intends,' 'plans,' 'projects,' 'believes,' 'estimates,' 'positioned,' 'outlook,' 'goal,' 'target' and similar expressions are used to identify these forward-looking statements. These statements are not guarantees of future performance nor promises that goals or targets will be met, and involve a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors that are difficult to predict and could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied. These risks include, without limitation, risks that: Accenture and Halfspace will not be able to close the transaction in the time period anticipated, or at all, which is dependent on the parties' ability to satisfy certain closing conditions; the transaction might not achieve the anticipated benefits for Accenture; Accenture's results of operations have been, and may in the future be, adversely affected by volatile, negative or uncertain economic and geopolitical conditions and the effects of these conditions on the company's clients' businesses and levels of business activity; Accenture's business depends on generating and maintaining client demand for the company's services and solutions including through the adaptation and expansion of its services and solutions in response to ongoing changes in technology and offerings, and a significant reduction in such demand or an inability to respond to the evolving technological environment could materially affect the company's results of operations; risks and uncertainties related to the development and use of AI could harm the company's business, damage its reputation or give rise to legal or regulatory action; if Accenture is unable to match people and their skills with client demand around the world and attract and retain professionals with strong leadership skills, the company's business, the utilization rate of the company's professionals and the company's results of operations may be materially adversely affected; Accenture faces legal, reputational and financial risks from any failure to protect client and/or company data from security incidents or cyberattacks; the markets in which Accenture operates are highly competitive, and Accenture might not be able to compete effectively; Accenture's ability to attract and retain business and employees may depend on its reputation in the marketplace; if Accenture does not successfully manage and develop its relationships with key ecosystem partners or fails to anticipate and establish new alliances in new technologies, the company's results of operations could be adversely affected; Accenture's profitability could materially suffer due to pricing pressure, if the company is unable to remain competitive, if its cost-management strategies are unsuccessful or if it experiences delivery inefficiencies or fail to satisfy certain agreed-upon targets or specific service levels; changes in Accenture's level of taxes, as well as audits, investigations and tax proceedings, or changes in tax laws or in their interpretation or enforcement, could have a material adverse effect on the company's effective tax rate, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition; Accenture's results of operations could be materially adversely affected by fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates; Accenture's debt obligations could adversely affect its business and financial condition; changes to accounting standards or in the estimates and assumptions Accenture makes in connection with the preparation of its consolidated financial statements could adversely affect its financial results; as a result of Accenture's geographically diverse operations and strategy to continue to grow in key markets around the world, the company is more susceptible to certain risks; if Accenture is unable to manage the organizational challenges associated with its size, the company might be unable to achieve its business objectives; Accenture might not be successful at acquiring, investing in or integrating businesses, entering into joint ventures or divesting businesses; Accenture's business could be materially adversely affected if the company incurs legal liability; Accenture's global operations expose the company to numerous and sometimes conflicting legal and regulatory requirements; Accenture's work with government clients exposes the company to additional risks inherent in the government contracting environment; if Accenture is unable to protect or enforce its intellectual property rights or if Accenture's services or solutions infringe upon the intellectual property rights of others or the company loses its ability to utilize the intellectual property of others, its business could be adversely affected; Accenture may be subject to criticism and negative publicity related to its incorporation in ; as well as the risks, uncertainties and other factors discussed under the 'Risk Factors' heading in most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and other documents filed with or furnished to the . Statements in this news release speak only as of the date they were made, and Accenture undertakes no duty to update any forward-looking statements made in this news release or to conform such statements to actual results or changes in Accenture's expectations.

Accenture M&A: Acquires AI Firm Halfspace, Altus Consulting In UK To Expand Advanced AI Solutions in Europe - Accenture (NYSE:ACN)

Our government trade tracker caught Pelosi's 169% AI winner. Discover how to track all 535 Congress member stock trades today. On Tuesday, Accenture ACN announced it has acquired Halfspace, a Denmark-based AI company that helps organizations leverage and scale AI to make better, more informed decisions faster. The financial terms of the deal remain undisclosed. The acquisition enhances Accenture's AI capabilities and talent in Nordic and European regions. Also Read: Verizon and Accenture Partner to Expand Cybersecurity Services and Strengthen Business Protections With the addition of Halfspace, Accenture will extend the Center for Advanced AI into the Nordics, focused on helping clients capture and create value from AI. Founded in 2015, Halfspace develops AI and generative AI solutions and products that drive value creation by streamlining complex business workflows and uses advanced analytics and data science to transform data into actionable insights. Halfspace adds nearly 80 highly qualified AI practitioners to Accenture's Nordic AI practice. The company also has strong ecosystem relationships with leading AI platform companies, including Databricks, Microsoft Corp MSFT, and Nvidia Corp NVDA. Accenture also snapped up Altus Consulting to further enhance its strategic advisory and delivery services for insurance, investments, and other financial services businesses across the UK. The financial terms of this deal remain undisclosed. Founded in 2005, Altus Consulting has developed advisory services with deep knowledge of the operating models, data, and platforms that power financial services organizations. Altus Consulting's highly skilled team will join Accenture's Insurance practice in the UK, bringing expertise in areas including distribution, risk and regulation, operating models, data, and technology. Accenture's total cash balance on November 30, 2024, was $8.3 billion. Accenture stock has been down over 10% in the last 12 months. At least two Wall Street firms, Jefferies and Stifel, cut their price targets on the stock in 2025. Accenture reported first-quarter fiscal 2025 sales of $17.69 billion compared with the analyst consensus estimate of $17.12 billion, up 9%. The adjusted EPS of $3.59 topped the analyst consensus estimate of $3.39. Accenture expects second-quarter revenues of $16.2 billion-$16.8 billion (versus consensus of $16.63 billion). Price Action: ACN stock traded lower by 1.16% to $341.01 premarket at the last check on Tuesday. ACNAccenture PLC $341.00-1.16% Overview MSFTMicrosoft Corp $383.01-1.41% NVDANVIDIA Corp $109.87-3.67% Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs

Accenture Acquires Halfspace, Invests in Aaru to Advance AI Capabilities

"Simulation is an incredibly powerful tool and will be the differentiator between companies that lead the market and those that fall behind in the AI age." Accenture has strengthened its AI capabilities with the acquisition of Danish AI company Halfspace and an investment in AI-driven analytics firm Aaru. The acquisition of Halfspace, a multi-award-winning company, on Tuesday brings nearly 80 AI specialists to Accenture's Nordic AI practice. This expansion will extend Accenture's Center for Advanced AI into the Nordics, helping businesses unlock the value of AI. Halfspace has strong partnerships with Databricks, Microsoft, and NVIDIA, and its team has expertise in strategy consulting and top academic research. The terms of the transaction have not been disclosed. On Tuesday, Accenture also invested in Aaru, a company that uses AI to analyse customer behaviour and predict market trends. The investment will help Aaru grow and improve its technology, allowing businesses to better understand customer expectations. "As 85% of CMOs say it's harder than ever to stay relevant. The gap between what companies offer and what customers expect has created an urgency to innovate," said Baiju Shah, chief strategy officer of Accenture Song. "Using Aaru, our creatives and strategists will be able to simulate entire audiences in minutes, unlocking customer insights where we couldn't before." Aaru CEO Cameron Fink pointed out the limitations of traditional customer analysis, such as sampling bias, slow data collection, and scalability issues. "Simulation is an incredibly powerful tool and will be the differentiator between companies that lead the market and those that fall behind in the AI age," he said. "Partnering with Accenture will accelerate the deployment of our prediction technology across industries." Aaru joins Accenture Ventures' Project Spotlight, which supports innovative AI startups. The investment follows Accenture's previous backing of AI-powered firms such as Cresta, Martian, and Writer.