Why Accenture (ACN) Is Buying XtremeEDA

By Amit Chowdhry • Jun 27, 2022
  • Accenture (NYSE: ACN) announced it is buying XtremeEDA. These are the details.

Accenture (NYSE: ACN) recently announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire XtremeEDA, an Ottawa-based silicon design services leader. XtremeEDA is a company that provides semiconductor engineering services for clients seeking custom silicon solutions used in consumer devices, cloud data centers, machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) computational platforms to enable edge AI deployment. The terms of the deal were undisclosed.

The acquisition of XtremeEDA is going to expand Accenture Cloud First’s capabilities in edge computing to help clients improve how they manage and use physical assets at or near the user and create new interactive and human experiences.

Launched in 2002, XtremeEDA is recognized across North America for its expertise in digital design verification, processor and system integration and hardware security. And XtremeEDA has an office in Ottawa and brings a team of approximately 40 experienced engineers and practitioners who serve North American clients across industries including software and platform, telecommunications, consumer products, avionics, and defense.

Among XtremeEDA’s core offerings is digital design verification where experienced engineers deliver advanced verification services and solutions including reusable and scalable implementation. And the company also offers processor and system integration services through applied state-of-the-art verification, performance analysis, and coherency testing. In close partnership with clients, XtremeEDA ensures that hardware products are designed with the best technologies to safeguard against an increasingly complex and evolving security environment.

Since 2020, XtremeEDA is the fifth business that Accenture Canada is acquiring. The recent acquisitions include:

— In September 2021, Accenture acquired Gevity, a strategy and consulting organization focused on helping healthcare industry clients transform their businesses through innovative technology solutions based in Victoria.

— In July 2021, Accenture had acquired Cloudworks, a leading Oracle Cloud service provider based in Toronto.

— In 2020, Accenture acquired Avenai, another Ottawa consultancy focused on public service organizations, and Callisto Integration, an Oakville, Ontario, provider of consulting and technology services in digital manufacturing in food and beverage, chemicals, utilities, and other industries.

KEY QUOTES:

“We believe silicon engineering has enormous potential to help organizations uncover new ways to differentiate and personalize experiences in the digital world. Excellent, fit-for-purpose silicon design translates into real-time, seamless, accessible and completely user-centered experiences. The XtremeEDA team’s expertise will help us bring more specialized, high-performance and scalable compute capabilities to our clients as they utilize the power of the Cloud Continuum to reinvent their enterprises.”

— Karthik Narain, global lead of Accenture Cloud First

“We welcome the addition of the XtremeEDA team to expand our edge computing and silicon design capabilities in North America. XtremeEDA will help us scale what is already one of the most comprehensive edge capabilities in the world, creating new experiences on the digital core. By combining XtremeEDA’s strong and deep experience in advance silicon design with Accenture’s Cloud First capabilities, we are poised to deliver more value for clients in specialized hardware, distributed cloud, decentralized edge computing and complex security needs.”

— Jeffrey Russell, president of Accenture in Canada

“Joining Accenture will enable us to continue the mission we started 20 years ago: to be a strategic partner for clients and to have global reach. It’s a milestone moment to bring our team’s experience to Accenture’s end-to-end silicon engineering services. We are excited for the journey ahead, one that will open greater opportunities for our clients and people.”

— Claude Cloutier, CEO, XtremeEDA