Accenture and Google Cloud Form Gemini Unit With 1,000 Forward-Deployed Engineers

Accenture and Google Cloud have launched the Accenture Gemini Enterprise Business Group, a joint unit that will put up to 1,000 forward-deployed engineers (FDEs) inside client companies to build AI applications on Google’s Gemini Enterprise platform. The companies announced the group Tuesday; The Wall Street Journal first reported it.

The unit sits within Accenture’s existing Google Business Group and builds on the consultancy’s nearly 50,000 Google Cloud-skilled professionals. Google will train the engineers, and the organization will live under Accenture, a Google spokesperson told TechCrunch.

Four priorities

According to the announcement, the group will focus on increasing Gemini Enterprise adoption with proprietary accelerators and implementation frameworks, building repeatable industry-specific solutions, moving clients from AI experiments to enterprise-scale deployments through dedicated capability centers, and driving user adoption. The companies cited YouTube, which deployed a Gemini Enterprise agent with Accenture and Google Cloud during an NFL Sunday Ticket demand surge, raising customer sentiment by 11% and cutting average handle time by 37%.

“Deploying agentic AI is a top priority for enterprises today, and the Accenture Gemini Enterprise Business Group significantly expands the expertise and resources available to help our customers deliver real business value,” said Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian. Accenture CEO Julie Sweet said the group “will help clients achieve these outcomes faster.”

Google is playing catch-up on enterprise spend

August data from Ramp shows Google with roughly 6% of enterprise AI spending among Ramp’s U.S. customers, against 43.5% for Anthropic and 39.7% for OpenAI, TechCrunch reported. A Google spokesperson noted that many of Ramp’s customers exclude the large enterprises signing strategic AI deals with Google Cloud.

The Accenture unit is Google’s latest FDE push this year. Google Cloud earlier made a $750 million partner commitment that embedded its own FDEs at consultancies including Capgemini, Cognizant and Deloitte, and struck a multi-year deal with CVC Capital Partners to place FDEs in the firm’s portfolio companies. For Accenture, it follows FDE programs with Microsoft in March, ServiceNow in May and SAP in June.