Accenture acquires Udacity, launches AI learning platform LearnVantage

Accenture on Wednesday announced the acquisition of learning platform Udacity and the launch of an AI-focused learning platform, LearnVantage, as part of its capacity building efforts.

The IT major also announced plans to invest $1 billion over a three-year period for building a technology learning platform, but did not reveal the cost of acquisition of Udacity.

While LearnVantage could also be used to offer training in more general technology, Accenture said it is more focused on upskilling employees for faster adoption of AI technologies. 

For technology companies around the world, generative AI represents one of the most transformative technological changes as they rebuild their digital core to cater to the new challenges in cloud, data and AI.

Digital, data, analytics and AI play pivotal roles across sectors – from communication technologies to discovering, developing, manufacturing of medicines and vaccines.

Founded by Sebastian Thrun, David Stavens, and Mike Sokolsky in 2011, US-based Udacity Inc offers open online courses that help users to acquire skills. 

Udacity is reported to have earlier negotiated an $80 million sale deal with Indian edutech company Upgrad, which, however, failed.

According to Accenture research, the main challenge that businesses face is their inability to upskill employees. About 51 per cent of organisations are experiencing the negative impacts of IT skils shortages while 94 per cent of employees feel the need to equip themselves with generative AI skills.

Accenture claims to invest more than $1 billion annually for training its 700,000-odd employees, delivering around 40 million training hours. 

The company also says that it has invested to create an AI-native learning platform that seamlessly integrates with an organisation’s existing learning platforms.