IBM said Monday it acquired Hakkoda, a New York-based data and AI consultancy.
The acquisition will “expand” IBM’s ability to lead consultants and AI to clients, particularly in industries such as financial services, the public sector, healthcare and life sciences, said Mohamad Ali, Head of Consulting Business at SVP and IBM.
“Hakkoda’s data expertise, deep technology partnerships and an asset-centric delivery model make IBM even better positioned to deliver value to clients faster when converted with AI,” says Ali.
The financial conditions for the transaction have not been disclosed.
This agreement arises as IBM continues to increase its investment in AI and Automation Technologies. In February, the company acquired DataStax, a platform for building AI apps, and recently confirmed its purchase of infrastructure and security automation company HashiCorp.
The strategy was topped the fruit for IBM. In the fourth quarter of 2024, the company that accounts for the majority of AI revenue from consulting recorded its biggest revenue jump in five years. At the time, IBM said AI reservations and sales were inceptions of over $5 billion.
It was co-founded in 2021 by former Deloitte GM Erik Duffield of Hakkoda. Startups provide a variety of tools to help businesses migrate and transform data, and products to “modernize” data from products and older systems.
According to CrunchBase, the startup was able to raise a total of $5.6 million from venture capital. Its supporters include Tercera, Leaded Edge Capital and Kashmir Holdings.
Hakkoda’s hundreds of consultants from the US, Latin America, India, Europe and the UK will join IBM’s consulting division as part of the transaction, Duffield said.
“From the beginning, hakkoda promised to be “in the arena.” Rather than observing the biggest changes in history, we are shaping them,” Duffield said in a statement. “Are (Are) our deep partnership with clients on IBM’s legacy of innovation, its commitment to discovery and its most technical challenges is the perfect pairing to bring Hakkoda’s industry-centric contemporary data consulting to the global market.”