Accenture Launches AI-Native Learning Platform, To Acquire EdTech Firm Udacity

Accenture has announced the launch of its artificial intelligence-native learning platform, LearnVantage, to help enterprises reskill and upskill their people in technology, data and AI to achieve greater business value.

The company said it will invest $1 billion in LearnVantage over three years and will acquire digital education company Udacity to accelerate capabilities of the learning platform.

The platform aims to help identify gaps in relevant skills being created by advances in technologies and then provide the industry-specific training needed to fill those gaps. This includes delivering personalised learning experiences for technical and business users, ranging from AI, data science, cloud and cybersecurity training for IT professionals to generative AI training for board and C-suite members, Accenture said.

According to Accenture research, upskilling the workforce is the No. 1 challenge for business leaders, with 51% of organisations starting to see negative impacts from worsening IT skills shortages. In addition, 94% of workers said they want to learn new skills to work with gen AI, but only 5% of organisations provide gen AI training at scale.

"We are scaling Accenture's deep capabilities as a world-class learning organisation to help our clients meet their business-growth objectives and enable their people to develop the relevant skills they need to make the most of the opportunities that technological change is bringing," Julie Sweet, chief executive officer of Accenture, said.

According to the company, LearnVantage will offer tailored technology learning programmes, specialised technology academies, ecosystem learning certification services and managed services. It will also offer certified online programmes designed to provide users with hands-on experience and industry-relevant skills in specialised fields.

The acquisition of Udacity will bring to Accenture capabilities in integrating proprietary content, expert services and scalable learning technology. Udacity provides localised course offerings in multiple languages, including English, Arabic, Korean and Spanish. Udacity's more than 230 professionals will join the LearnVantage business.

"The rise of generative AI represents one of the most transformative changes in how work gets done and is driving a growing need for enterprises to train and upskill people in cloud, data and AI," Kishore Durg, global lead of Accenture LearnVantage, said.

"The addition of Udacity to Accenture LearnVantage will enable us to bring Accenture's deep capabilities as a world-class learning organisation to clients at scale, helping them build the skills of their people to achieve greater business value," Durg said.