Accenture Plc ACN said Tuesday it’s planning to invest $3 billion in AI over three years to help clients across all industries use the technology to achieve greater growth and efficiency. “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,” Accenture CEO Julie Sweet said in a statement. The company’s existing AI includes more than 1,450 patents and pending patent applications. The $3 billion investment will be used to acquire assets, ventures, acquisitions, talent and ecosystem partnerships with the aim of doubling AI talent at the company’s Data & AI practice to 80,000 professionals b y hiring, acquisitions and training. The company will create accelerators for data and AI readiness across 19 distinct industries as well as prebuilt industry and functional models to take advantage of new AI capabilities. The stock has gained 17% in the year to date, while the S&P 500 SPX has gained 13%.
Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.