Accenture has made a strategic investment, through its Accenture Ventures program, in Pipeline, a Denver-based startup that uses artificial intelligence (AI) technology to increase financial performance by closing the gender equity gap, according to a statement released by the company.
Pipeline's proprietary cloud-based SaaS platform uses artificial intelligence to assess, address and take action against the gender biases that cost the U.S. alone $2 trillion. By analyzing hiring, pay, performance, potential and promotion data, Pipeline helps organizations quickly identify internal areas of unconscious bias to make gender equity actionable and attainable, providing recommendations that support improved financial performance for the organization, as well as growth for the individual, according to the statement. A component of the platform, the Pipeline Forecast, provides a clear view of the timeline for investment and projected returns.
Accenture Invests in Pipeline to Close Gender Equity Gap
Pipeline is part of Project Spotlight, the Accenture Ventures program that offers participating companies access to Accenture’s technology domain expertise and its enterprise clients. Through the program, Pipeline will co-innovate with Accenture at its Innovation Hubs, Labs and Liquid Studios, working with subject matter experts to adapt its solutions to the enterprise market, according to the statement.
Pipeline is the latest Accenture Ventures investment with Accenture Talent & Organization/Human Potential. Accenture made strategic investments in Beamery, a London-based startup that uses AI technology to help companies attract, engage and retain talent at a global scale and SkyHive, a Vancouver, British Columbia-based startup that uses AI and quantum analysis to facilitate labor market transformation, reskilling and learning earlier this year.
Tom Lounibos, managing director, Accenture Ventures, said, “Our investment in Pipeline aligns with Accenture Ventures’ commitment to cultivate the latest technologies, enhanced by human ingenuity, that solve for our clients’ most important challenges. Pipeline can help our clients stop unconscious bias in the workplace and increase financial performance, allowing them to do well while doing good.”
Accenture's Investment and Acquisition Strategy
Accenture typically acquires dozens of companies each year and makes multiple strategic investments through Accenture Ventures' Project Spotlight, which is focused on investing in companies that create or apply disruptive enterprise technologies. Earlier this year, Accenture invested in REPL, a U.K.-based technology consultancy; Cirrus, a leadership and talent consultancy; GRA, a supply chain and logistics consulting firm in Australia; and Pollux, a provider of industrial robotics and automation solutions.
Many of Accenture's acquisitions focus on cloud services, cybersecurity, digital transformation, data and analytics, managed services and ad agencies. You can see a full list of those acquisitions here.
