Accenture, Databricks launch group to scale AI agents

Accenture and Databricks have expanded their partnership, launching a joint business group aimed at moving artificial intelligence projects from pilots into production. The focus is on scaling AI agents across large organisations.

The Accenture Databricks Business Group will draw on more than 25,000 Databricks-trained professionals and support customers using Databricks tools such as Lakebase, Genie and Agent Bricks, alongside the Databricks Lakehouse platform.

The launch comes as many enterprises report progress with AI experimentation but struggle to roll out applications across business units. Data fragmentation and ageing infrastructure remain common obstacles, limiting access to data and slowing governance decisions-often delaying production deployments.

Accenture and Databricks are positioning the group as a way to consolidate expertise in data foundations, governance and implementation. The work will focus on making Databricks a core platform for data and AI and on building what they call "agent-ready" data environments.

Tools in focus

Lakebase is a serverless Postgres database designed for AI use cases. Genie is Databricks' conversational assistant for querying enterprise data. Agent Bricks is positioned as a toolset for building agents that operate on enterprise data within governed environments.

The partnership also points to a broader shift in enterprise software adoption. Businesses are moving beyond single chatbots and experimenting with multi-agent systems, where specialised agents perform tasks in sequence or in parallel. Accenture and Databricks cited a "327% increase" in multi-agent systems over four months, without detailing the underlying dataset.

Julie Sweet, Accenture's chair and CEO, said the partnership centres on modernising data foundations and governance alongside AI deployment. "With Databricks, we're helping clients modernise their data foundation so they can build, scale and govern AI applications and agents with confidence," she said.

Ali Ghodsi, Databricks' CEO and co-founder, said customer interest is shifting toward measurable outcomes and broader internal adoption. "AI has reached a point where business impact is the only metric that matters," he said.

Customer work

The companies pointed to deployments across retail, chemicals and pharmaceuticals, including pricing, internal digital assistants and data governance modernisation.

Albertsons Companies, one of the largest food and drug retailers in the US, has worked with Accenture and Databricks on an "agentic solution" for pricing intelligence. They described a "merchant twin" that combines historical analysis, forward-looking intelligence and explainability for merchandising teams.

"Albertsons Companies is committed to leading the future of retail intelligence through purposeful investments in technology and AI," said Anuj Dhanda, EVP and chief technology and transformation officer at Albertsons Companies.

BASF has built an internal digital assistant called FOX for finance and controlling functions using the Databricks platform, according to the companies. The assistant is designed to answer questions about processes and day-to-day work rather than operate as a standalone tool.

"We worked alongside Accenture and Databricks to create a digital assistant that understands our processes and supports our colleagues," said Alican Polat, divisional AI lead at BASF.

Kyowa Kirin International has modernised its data infrastructure using Databricks Lakehouse and a medallion architecture, according to the companies. Accenture and Avanade supported the work, which was framed around governance and trust in data for regulated environments.

"We wanted to become a data-led organisation, and we knew that the power of data starts with trust. Once you start believing in your data, the sky's the limit," said Sudeep Gupta, director of data at KKI.

Delivery model

The business group will cover deployments of Lakebase as an operational database layer, broader roll-outs of Genie, and development of "production-ready AI agents". It will also target industry-specific use cases in financial services, retail, life sciences, telecommunications and the public sector.

The partnership also includes multi-cloud deployments and migration from legacy systems to Databricks. These projects often involve consolidating data management practices and aligning governance across business units and geographies.

The companies also cited a university programme in India that trains final-semester engineering students who later join Accenture. The initiative aligns with Databricks' stated plan to invest USD $250 million in India over three years.

Accenture has been named Databricks' Global SI Partner of the Year for seven consecutive years, according to the companies. The expanded partnership and new group will be used to pursue larger-scale deployments as customers push AI agents into operational workflows.