Avocado Consulting buys AI Consulting Group in expansion

Avocado Consulting has acquired AI Consulting Group and launched a Data and AI practice, adding a specialist AI team to its existing technology services business.

The acquisition brings 20 AI Consulting Group staff into Avocado, taking the combined workforce to more than 170 consultants. AI Consulting Group Founder Rad Anandakumar will lead the new practice as Head of Data and AI.

The move follows a two-year partnership between the businesses and combines AI specialists with Avocado's existing delivery, observability and security teams.

Financial terms were not disclosed. AI Consulting Group will initially continue to operate under its current brand while identifying itself as an Avocado company.

Gerardo Barranquero, Chief Executive Officer of Avocado Consulting, said the firm chose to buy rather than build the new unit internally.

"AI doesn't wait for anyone to catch up," said Gerardo Barranquero, Chief Executive Officer of Avocado Consulting. "For Avocado to best service our clients in this new AI world, it makes perfect sense to acquire AICG. We have partnered with them for the last two years, and our cultures are very aligned. Growing this capability organically would have taken too long. AICG brings AI specialists who live and breathe data lakes and agentic AI solutions daily. As one company, we can fast-track clients from proof of concept to production solutions. Our clients have always relied on Avocado to deliver with certainty. Now we can also deliver AI with certainty."

The deal comes as more Australian organisations move AI projects beyond trials and into day-to-day use. Avocado cited research from the 2026 Ecosystm Developer Experience in Australia Study, which found that 91% of large Australian organisations have AI in production or proof of concept, while 9% have end-to-end visibility into how those systems behave once live.

Market shift

That gap in oversight is central to the case for the new practice. Organisations are finding that deploying AI tools is less difficult than tracking their behaviour, controlling costs and managing the systems around them.

Barranquero said the combined business had already worked together on a hospitality project that paired AI and data work with cyber security support.

"It's a proven formula, and by combining as one team we can widen our AI reach and simplify our go-to-market. We have just completed the first phase of a large hospitality project, where AICG brought its data and AI expertise and Avocado brought our cyber security skills. Going forward, it will be a unified team delivering for the client."

The new Data and AI practice will offer AI readiness and feasibility studies, data lake work, process re-engineering, development and testing support, and governance and observability services. It will also focus on hosting AI solutions on Australian infrastructure for state and federal government customers concerned about data sovereignty.

AI Consulting Group has worked across sectors including retail, finance, government and mining for more than eight years. Its client list includes BHP, the NRL, Fremantle Ports, Downer Group and the Department of Education.

Its work spans generative AI, large language models, AI agents, machine learning, machine vision and data platforms. The company has also developed an AI agent platform called Express Agent for the retail sector.

Combined offer

Avocado has operated for 22 years in IT professional services, with work centred on observability, cyber security, operational resilience, quality engineering, software testing, project delivery, DevOps and managed services. The acquisition broadens that range at a time when many customers are trying to connect AI tools with existing systems while maintaining security and governance controls.

Anandakumar said AI Consulting Group had built its position through years of work in the field rather than in response to recent demand.

"In AI, eight years is a long time. While everyone is now jumping on the AI bandwagon, we've spent that time growing our capability and knowledge to build bespoke solutions rather than generic use cases," said Rad Anandakumar, Founder of AI Consulting Group and Head of Data and AI at Avocado Consulting.

He said the link-up with Avocado would strengthen the technical support around the AI consultancy's work.

"But AI is only as good as the data it can access and the systems it runs on. Joining Avocado adds engineering, security and resilience depth to what we do, and gives our team a springboard for larger, more ambitious projects," he said.