Inside the AI startups reinventing consulting: 'It's not as good as McKinsey, but it's instant'

"For decades, the consulting and tech industries have moved in tandem: Silicon Valley develops new technology, and the big consulting firms help companies deploy it. But the latest breakthroughs in AI are upending that relationship. As companies like OpenAI and Anthropic churn out AI models, a cottage industry of "consultancy tech" startups is emerging. Some are leveraging AI to help consultants work more efficiently, and some are hoping to eat their lunch."

"Multiple investors told Business Insider that interest in such companies has picked up in Silicon Valley over the past year. Thomson Nguyen, cofounder and managing partner of venture capital firm Saga, said it's unlikely that these AI consultancy startups will ever take on the established players. "If you're a Fortune 500 company building AI infrastructure for your call center, you'll still hire the Big Four - and you'll have the budget for it," he said."

"PromptQL, an enterprise platform launched by open-source unicorn Hasura, aims to automate some of the work of a typical consultant. It helps clients build custom AI analysts by integrating their internal data with the foundation models they already use. Once deployed, these AI analysts can perform tasks typically handled by data scientists or engineers - and continuously learn and adapt to their environments over time."

Silicon Valley investors are backing 'consultancy tech' startups that automate market research, data analysis, and operations. Startups like Parable, Prologue, and Profound have raised funding. OpenAI and Anthropic provide foundation models that enable a cottage industry of firms augmenting consultant workflows or replacing them. Venture capitalists expect these startups to primarily serve mid-market companies earning under $100 million annually, while Fortune 500 firms will likely continue to hire the Big Four for large-scale AI infrastructure. PromptQL, launched by Hasura, helps clients build custom AI analysts by integrating internal data with foundation models. Deployed AI analysts can perform data-science tasks and continuously learn and adapt. PromptQL also provides expert engineers to operate AI analysts and shape AI transformation strategies.

Read at Business Insider