Accenture acquires financial AI specialists Mudano

Accenture has acquired a financial services industry strategic data consultancy as it bids to expand its artificial intelligence (AI) offer to clients. Mudano, which has 15 staff in Edinburgh, specialises in machine learning and helping financial services businesses transition to an AI-powered future. The company, which is headquartered in London, will join the global business consultancy’s ‘applied intelligence’ unit, which will enhance its analytics, data and artificial intelligence (AI) transformation capabilities. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed and it is understood the Mudano staff in Edinburgh will continue to work at their existing premises. Les Bayne, Joint MD for Accenture Scotland said: “Companies like Mudano here in Edinburgh deliver a wealth of talent in data analytics, artificial intelligence and machine learning to help financial services firms. Connecting this with Accenture’s own skills and capabilities in this area is an opportunity to showcase that talent internationally and fuel faster business value across the sector.” Mudano’s team of industry-focused data professionals will join Accenture Applied Intelligence, which employs more than 20,000 professionals worldwide who help clients scale AI, including 6,000 data scientists, data engineers and AI professionals. Mudano’s data advisory expertise and technology solutions will complement Accenture’s existing capabilities and strengthen its commitment to helping clients generate measurable value and return on investment from large-scale transformation projects. Founded in 2014 and headquartered in London, with a presence in Edinburgh, Scotland, Mudano uses advanced analytics, applied data science and modern data technologies to help the U.K.’s largest banks, insurers and wealth management firms transform key areas, such as customer behavior analytics, financial crime-prevention and intelligent data management. “In the U.K., 87% of businesses are still struggling with how to scale artificial intelligence to deliver business value — and financial services is no exception,” said George Marcotte, a managing director at Accenture who leads its Applied Intelligence group in the U.K. & Ireland. “Mudano’s focus on helping clients build a ‘data culture’ aligns perfectly to Accenture’s applied intelligence strategy. By creating a strong data foundation — supported by the right skills, stakeholders and technologies — our clients can transform at speed and scale and fuel real change for their business.” Ed Broussard, Mudano CEO, said, “Accenture’s reputation for excellence and large-scale delivery will enable us to help clients realize the benefits of data transformation — from setting the strategy and building the culture to leveraging the game-changing insights that data analytics can bring. We are excited to become part of one of the world’s leading companies and look forward to the opportunities this will bring for our employees and clients.” Accenture Applied Intelligence has received several recognitions from leading industry analyst firms in 2019, including being named a worldwide leader in AI vendor services by IDC. In the past several months Accenture Applied Intelligence has acquired Clarity Insights, Pragsis Bidoop and Analytics8, further enhancing its ability to meet growing client demand in the U.S., Spain and Australia, respectively. “Our acquisition momentum in Applied Intelligence over the past six months enables us to deliver AI at scale to clients around the world across a range of industries,” said Athina Kanioura, chief analytics officer and global lead, Accenture Applied Intelligence. “By bringing new talent and capabilities into our business, we complement our ongoing organic growth strategy and increase our speed to market.” In its 2019 fiscal year, Accenture invested nearly US$1.2 billion on 33 acquisitions globally to acquire critical skills and capabilities in strategic, high-growth areas of the market.