Telstra and Accenture have proposed a joint venture (JV) that will see the telecommunications provider ramp up its data and artificial intelligence (AI) roadmap. The JV will comprise a global leadership team that includes specialists from Telstra and Accenture’s data and AI teams, who will build on the telco's work to modernise its data and AI platforms, while also embedding responsible AI by design. Accenture’s $3 billion AI investment in assets, industry solutions, ventures, acquisitions, talent and ecosystem partnerships, with access to the latest innovation in AI technologies and AI teams in Silicon Valley, will also be made available to Telstra. A key focus of the JV will be to use capabilities of agentic AI and enable teams to work with intelligent AI ecosystems for key tasks. The team would also work to build specialised AI tools to support data and AI capabilities across its workforce. As part of these changes Telstra will look to consolidate vendor support from 18 data and AI providers down to two, Quantium Telstra and the proposed JV with Accenture. This follows Telstra’s software engineering and IT division consolidating its partners last year, which saw the telco move from 400 vendors to only two. According to the telco this streamlined operations, reduced complexity and delivered efficiencies. Telstra CEO Vicki Brady said the telco’s data and AI ambitions go beyond the creation of its in-house AI tools, AskTelstra and One Sentence Summary. “Our strategic partnership with Microsoft and out joint venture with Quantium have been critical enablers in out AI journey so far and this joint venture with Accenture will propel us to the next phase of our AI evolution,” she said. Telstra’s core data and AI workforce will be based in Australia and India and would receive an offer to join the JV. At the end of the seven-year term, JV employees would be offered a role at Telstra. The proposed seven year is subject to consultation with the telco’s employees and unions.