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Unilever is joining forces with digital services company Accenture as part of a strategic initiative to accelerate its AI capabilities. The partnership aims to leverage Unilever’s AI research and implementation of technologies that enhance productivity, drive efficiencies and accelerate disruptive and AI-powered innovations at scale. Unilever’s global AI lab, Horizon3 Labs, will host the work. The lab recently opened in Toronto, home to one of Accenture’s six generative AI studios in North America. The two companies will explore new applications to scale generative AI, for example, assets from Accenture’s AI Navigator or its ‘switchboard,’ which allows a user to select a combination of models to address the unique business context. Julie Sweet, chair and CEO of Accenture, said: “This collaboration builds on our relationship of more than three decades with Unilever, which continues to raise the bar as a digital powerhouse and industry leader”. “The combination of Horizon3 Labs’ disruptive innovation with Accenture’s deep expertise and strong ecosystem partnerships will help Unilever scale AI and generative AI more rapidly and responsibly across its business and discover new pathways to value.” The initiative will leverage the solutions and accelerators within Accenture’s previously announced $3 billion investment in data and AI. As part of those efforts, Accenture will connect Unilever with its data and AI experts and help capitalise on Accenture’s ecosystem partnerships, ventures and strategic investments within its Center for Advanced AI, which includes more than 1,450 pending and issued patents in Accenture’s AI solutions and learnings from more than 300 generative AI projects. Steve McCrystal, chief enterprise and technology officer at Unilever, said: “The combination of Horizon3 Labs’ disruptive innovation with Accenture’s deep expertise and strong ecosystem partnerships will help Unilever scale AI and generative AI more rapidly and responsibly across its business and discover new pathways to value.”