PwC Announces $1 Billion Investment in Generative AI to Reimagine Business and Deliver Better Outcomes

Highlights

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• PwC plans to invest $1 billion over the next three years to expand and scale its AI offerings, with a focus on generative AI technology.

• The investment includes a collaboration with Microsoft Corp. and OpenAI to access and use GPT-4/ChatGPT and Azure OpenAI Service.

• PwC aims to use generative AI to transform the way it works and delivers value to its clients by generating richer insights, driving more productivity, and developing new products and services.

• PwC has already implemented generative AI capabilities for clients in various industries, including insurance, aviation, and healthcare, among others.

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Generative artificial intelligence (AI) is a branch of AI that can create new content, such as text, images, or code, from user inputs. For example, ChatGPT is a generative AI tool that can generate natural-language responses from text prompts. Generative AI has many potential applications in various domains, such as business, education, entertainment, and healthcare.

One of the leading accounting and consulting firms in the world, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC), has recently announced a major investment in generative AI technology for its US operations. According to a press release, PwC plans to invest $1 billion over the next three years to expand and scale its AI offerings and help clients reimagine their businesses through the power of generative AI.

The investment builds on PwC's long-standing commitment to AI, strengthening its ability to deliver human-led and tech-powered solutions and to build trust and drive sustained outcomes in line with its global strategy, The New Equation. The investment also features an industry-leading relationship with Microsoft Corp., creating scalable offerings using OpenAI’s GPT-4/ChatGPT and Microsoft’s Azure OpenAI Service.

OpenAI is a research organization that develops and publishes open-source AI tools, such as ChatGPT and GPT-4, which are among the most advanced language models in the world. A language model is a software that can understand and generate natural language from data. Microsoft is a technology giant that offers cloud computing services, such as Azure, which provide infrastructure and platforms for running AI applications.

By collaborating with Microsoft and OpenAI, PwC will be able to access and use GPT-4/ChatGPT and Azure OpenAI Service to transform the way it works and delivers value to its clients. PwC will leverage this technology to support clients in reinventing their businesses and delivering better outcomes by generating richer insights, driving more productivity, and developing new products and services in a way that builds greater trust with their stakeholders.

“We are at a tipping point in business and society where AI will revolutionize how we work, live and interact at scale,” says Mohamed Kande, Vice Chair, US Consulting Solutions Co-Leader and Global Advisory Leader, PwC. “PwC has long been a pioneer in responsible AI and this latest investment and collaboration with Microsoft will help our people and clients realize the augmented productivity and new growth opportunities associated with generative AI, doing so in a responsible way while driving the right results.”

PwC has already started implementing capabilities within Azure OpenAI Service for clients in various industries including insurance, aviation, and healthcare, among others. These solutions have successfully enabled clients to save time and costs while helping accelerate revenue.

“We are excited that PwC will utilize Azure OpenAI Service to transform the way they work, and to deliver innovative customer solutions that take advantage of the world’s most advanced AI models, backed by Azure’s trusted enterprise-grade capabilities and AI-optimized infrastructure,” said Eric Boyd, Corporate Vice President, AI Platform, Microsoft. “Our collaboration with PwC and OpenAI will be a game-changer that opens the floodgates for businesses to experience generative AI applications in a safe and secure manner.”

According to PwC’s recent Trust Survey, nearly all business leaders say their company is prioritizing AI-related initiatives and systems in the near term, but only 35% of executives say their company will focus on improving the governance of AI systems, processes, monitoring and reporting on AI model performance.

This highlights the need for responsible and ethical use of generative AI tools, which can pose challenges such as data quality, bias, privacy, security, accountability, and social impact. PwC has developed a framework for responsible AI that helps organizations assess and mitigate these risks while maximizing the benefits of generative AI.

In addition to embedding generative AI in its own operations, PwC hopes to advise other companies on how to use the technology effectively and responsibly. For example, PwC can help clients design and implement generative AI solutions for various use cases, such as writing reports, preparing compliance documents, analyzing business strategies, identifying inefficiencies in operations or creating marketing materials and sales campaigns.

“Embracing this technology is critical,” Mr. Kande said. “Generative AI will enable us to do things we never thought possible before.”