Accenture to buy 65% of U.S.-based AI data center firm DLB

DUBLIN, IRELAND, and NEW JERSEY, UNITED STATES — Global professional services firm Accenture has moved to acquire a 65% majority stake in United States-based data center specialist DLB Associates. 

The strategic acquisition aims to bolster Accenture’s infrastructure engineering capabilities, enabling it to help technology clients rapidly scale their artificial intelligence (AI) operations amidst surging demand for computing power.

Neil Chauhan, Chief Innovation Officer at DLB, notes, “Fueled by the promise of an AI-driven future, there is a collective focus and urgency to quickly provide and deploy compute at scale.”

Accenture, DLB to meet surging AI data center demand

Accenture’s leadership identifies a critical need to help clients navigate these constraints, which impact their core value chains. The company states that clients face challenges in site planning, staffing shortages, sustainability, and cybersecurity as they pursue ambitious build programs.

“Along with DLB’s deep expertise, Accenture will offer an end-to-end capability from the earliest stages of conceptual design and strategic site development through to advanced engineering, rapid deployment, and operational performance,” said Julie Sweet, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Accenture.

“This approach will ensure our clients can meet the ever-increasing demands of AI with speed, scale, and reliability.”

This integrated capability spans from the earliest stages of conceptual design and strategic site selection through to advanced engineering, rapid deployment, and operational performance optimization. 

The combined force is positioned to help hyperscalers, emerging hyperscalers, neo-clouds, and colocation providers accelerate their time-to-market and deploy computers at the scale and reliability required for an AI-driven future.

Accenture expands global capital projects, data center reach

This transaction is not an isolated move but a key part of Accenture’s deliberate strategy to build a dominant global presence in infrastructure and capital projects (I&CP). 

The company highlights that I&CP, including data center development, is a growing component of its service portfolio. By integrating approximately 620 of DLB’s employees and leadership into its Industry X practice, Accenture is specifically augmenting its footprint and capabilities in the Americas.

This acquisition follows a pattern of strategic investments in this sector since 2023, illustrating a concerted expansion plan. Accenture has previously acquired firms such as U.S.-based Anser Advisory, Canada’s Comtech, the UK’s Soben, Spain’s BOSLAN, and others in Australia, Italy, and France. 

Bringing these companies together lets Accenture combine DLB’s expert data center engineering with its wider skills in supply chain, procurement, and construction management, forming a complete set of services to meet changing needs of clients around the world.

Chief Strategy and Services Officer of Accenture, Manish Sharma, notes, “By pairing DLB’s data center services expertise with Accenture’s global reach and strengths across supply chain, procurement, construction management, and technology, we plan to address client demand for more value and innovation.”

The financial terms of the DLB acquisition were not disclosed. The transaction’s completion is pending customary closing conditions, including necessary regulatory approvals. 

Upon closing, DLB’s operations, led by CEO David Quirk and Chief Innovation Officer Neil Chauhan, will become part of Accenture, continuing their work in data center site selection, design engineering, commissioning, and energy optimization. 

“We selected Accenture to unleash our ability to match that scale and help support clients through value creation and joint ideation for [next-generation] AI data center—at pace,” Quirk said.

Accenture ranked #2 in OA500 2025, an objective index of the world’s 500 top outsourcing companies.