Google Cloud races to catch up in the AI deployment wars with Accenture deal

Google Cloud and Accenture are working together on a joint unit dedicated to sending engineers into enterprises to help them better adopt Google’s AI tools and services. 

The new unit, dubbed Accenture Gemini Enterprise Business Group, is Google’s latest foray into the increasingly competitive world of “forward-deployed engineers,” or FDEs. Rivals in the AI race, including OpenAI, Anthropic, Microsoft and Amazon, have all recently launched separate business units in a bet that implementing AI models can become its own trillion-dollar business.

It’s the kind of bet AI companies and hyperscalers increasingly need to make. Hyperscalers are committing hundreds of billions of dollars a year to GPUs, data centers, and power capacity even as the revenue directly attributable to AI remains a fraction of that investment.

Google Cloud generated $24.8 billion in the second quarter, a big chunk of which was driven by enterprise AI. But the commitments behind that growth are enormous. Google Cloud’s parent company Alphabet reportedly accumulated $811 billion in purchase commitments and contractual obligations as of June 30.

This return on investment is not yet materializing in the way companies and investors need it to, so everything hinges on whether or not AI companies can create enough demand for their services. But that demand is not guaranteed, as enterprises themselves are struggling to see a true return on investment on their AI spending.