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Business Wire
6 days ago
- Business
- Business Wire
Accenture Helps High-Potential AI Startups Grow with Support from NVIDIA Inception
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Accenture (NYSE: ACN) today announced expanded support for high-potential AI startups with a new engagement initiative, established through Accenture Ventures with support from NVIDIA Inception. This collaboration is designed to accelerate startup growth and innovation by closing a common gap many early-stage companies face—moving from breakthrough ideas to scalable enterprise solutions. The initiative will provide startups with market intelligence, technical workshops, enterprise workflow knowledge and exposure to real-world business environments. Startups will gain access to Accenture's deep industry experience and enterprise relationships, as well as emerging technology resources across Accenture Innovation's global network. Combined with NVIDIA's advanced technical capabilities and global developer ecosystem, this initiative will provide a powerful launchpad for the next generation of AI innovators. 'AI is reshaping industries at a breakneck pace, but many startups struggle to bridge the gap between innovation and enterprise-ready solutions,' said Tom Lounibos, global lead for Accenture Ventures. 'Through this collaboration, we're creating an environment where these companies can turn fresh ideas into reality—faster, smarter and with the right strategic backing.' Accenture Ventures and NVIDIA Inception will bring together world-class technical, commercial, and strategic support, and access to NVIDIA's extensive venture capital network. This will help AI startups rapidly adapt and refine solutions to achieve enterprise readiness and deliver meaningful impact in the market. 'The startup ecosystem drives technological innovation across all sectors, from customer experience to healthcare,' said Howard Wright, vice president of startup ecosystem at NVIDIA. 'NVIDIA Inception working together with Accenture Ventures will help startups accelerate their impact on every industry powered by AI.' Initial focus on marketing and customer experience The first phase of this initiative will focus on startups in the areas of marketing, sales, and customer service, where AI is reinventing how businesses connect with customers through data-driven insights, personalized content, and immersive experiences. Startups will be able to tap into marketing and customer domain expertise from Accenture Song's tech-powered creative group. Today's announcement highlights Accenture's ongoing investment in data and AI capabilities to help clients grow their business and sustain relevance with customers. It expands on the Accenture NVIDIA Business Group, launched last year to help clients rapidly scale AI adoption, including agentic AI systems, to drive new levels of productivity and growth. For instance, Accenture's AI Refinery™, built with NVIDIA AI Enterprise software, help companies turn raw AI technology into useful business solutions. About Accenture Accenture is a leading global professional services company that helps the world's leading businesses, governments and other organizations build their digital core, optimize their operations, accelerate revenue growth and enhance citizen services—creating tangible value at speed and scale. We are a talent- and innovation-led company with approximately 801,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries. Technology is at the core of change today, and we are one of the world's leaders in helping drive that change, with strong ecosystem relationships. We combine our strength in technology and leadership in cloud, data and AI with unmatched industry experience, functional expertise and global delivery capability. Our broad range of services, solutions and assets across Strategy & Consulting, Technology, Operations, Industry X and Song, together with our culture of shared success and commitment to creating 360° value, enable us to help our clients reinvent and build trusted, lasting relationships. We measure our success by the 360° value we create for our clients, each other, our shareholders, partners and communities. Visit us at
Daily Mail
06-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Seattle businesses offer discount for Canadian visitors
Seattle has seen a significant drop in Canadian visitors, with Victoria Clipper tour visits down 58% in March and daily border crossings at Blaine falling from 5,000 in January to 1,800 in March. Seattle businessman Bob Donegan attributes this decline to Canadian frustration over tariffs and discussions about Washington becoming the 51st state. Veteran civic leader and businessman Howard Wright echoed this sentiment, stating that the current situation is not how neighbors should treat each other, emphasizing the regional ties between Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and British Columbia within the Cascadia area. To counteract the decline in Canadian visitors, local businesses, including Donegan and Wright, have launched a grassroots "Open Arms for Canada" campaign, offering significant discounts starting with the upcoming Blue Jays series. Conveying a message of welcome and support, the "Open Arms for Canada" website tells Canadian neighbors they regret the US federal government's treatment. Businesses are offering a 30% discount by accepting the Canadian Dollar at par, emphasizing their appreciation for Canadian visitors and their solidarity. The site ends with a sentiment of understanding for Canadian frustration while maintaining a welcoming posture. Leading the "Open Arms" initiative are prominent Seattle attractions and businesses such as Argosy Cruises, the Victoria Clipper, the Space Needle, Kenmore Air, and Ivar's. The growing list of participants also includes Ethan Stowell Restaurants, Spinasse, Artusi, Fremont Brewing, the Sheraton Grand, and numerous other hotels. Donegan jokingly stated that proof of Canadian identity, even a Canadian accent, would suffice for the discount. However, he noted that data suggests a decline in Canadian travel for weeks, coinciding with President Trump's remarks about annexing Canada or imposing tariffs, issues that also played a significant role in recent Canadian elections. Data from the Cascade Gateway and Western Washington University's Border Policy Research Institute reveals a dramatic decline in land border crossings. Canadian vehicle entries at Whatcom County crossings, including Blaine, were down 43% in March compared to the previous year, and this decrease has deepened to 52% in April so far (2024 to 2025).
