Accenture invests in CLIKA to boost AI infrastructure engineering capabilities.

Accenture has invested in CLIKA, an AI specialist start-up, to strengthen its infrastructure engineering capabilities and accelerate the deployment of AI on edge devices. CLIKA offers a unified platform that simplifies AI optimization and deployment on various devices, including smartphones and autonomous vehicles. The investment will also join Accenture Ventures' accelerator for startups specializing in data and AI.

Accenture has announced an investment in CLIKA, a high-performance AI compression platform company, through Accenture Ventures. This strategic move aims to bolster Accenture's intelligent edge and infrastructure engineering capabilities, facilitating faster and more efficient AI deployment on edge devices [1].

CLIKA's unified platform addresses the challenges enterprises face when deploying AI to edge devices such as smartphones, IoT endpoints, autonomous vehicles, and industrial robotics. The platform simplifies the process of optimizing and deploying AI models, making it easier for enterprises to harness the benefits of edge AI [1].

The collaboration between Accenture and CLIKA will result in the development of enterprise-ready edge AI offerings for secure edge deployments at scale. This partnership will enable the deployment of high-performance, compact AI models across various industries, unlocking strategic advantages and new business opportunities for Accenture's clients [1].

At the core of CLIKA's platform is its proprietary software development kit (SDK), which automatically compresses and optimizes AI models for a wide range of hardware targets, including CPUs and low-power devices. Each deployment is uniquely tuned for its environment, delivering speed and accuracy without extensive manual intervention or customization [1].

This investment strengthens Accenture's leading capabilities in building next-generation AI infrastructure for edge devices while expanding CLIKA's global footprint and impact. CLIKA will also join Accenture Ventures' Project Spotlight, a vertical accelerator for data and AI companies, providing extensive access to Accenture's domain expertise and enterprise clients [1].

Raj Wickramasinghe, Global Lead for Infrastructure Engineering at Accenture, commented, "Edge computing is now a critical part of the AI lifecycle. Today’s enterprises need seamless intelligence at the edge. Through this investment and collaboration, we can bring CLIKA’s technology—which allows intelligent models to run on devices not originally designed for AI—to our enterprise clients, delivering the efficiency and precision needed to make edge AI practical and scalable" [1].

Nayul Lina Kim, Co-founder & CEO of CLIKA, added, "At CLIKA, we believe powerful AI belongs on everyday devices. This investment and collaboration with Accenture Ventures allow us to bring that vision to life, offering enterprises a smooth and efficient way to deploy AI in real-world, real-time scenarios where it can make the biggest impact" [1].

Tom Lounibos, Global Lead for Accenture Ventures, stated, "The rapid growth of AI—and the complexity that comes with—demands faster, simpler, and smarter deployment. With this investment, we are providing CLIKA with strategic market access to enterprise clients, teaming to deploy advanced models at the edge and put intelligence where it matters most" [1].

The terms of the investment were not disclosed.

References:
[1] https://www.marketscreener.com/news/accenture-invests-in-clika-to-expand-intelligent-edge-ai-capabilities-ce7c51d3d18af524
[2] https://www.thefastmode.com/solution-vendors-m-a/44148-accenture-invests-in-clika-to-accelerate-edge-ai-deployment-globally