Telstra and Quantium launch new data and AI joint venture

Telstra and Quantium have announced a deal to form a new joint venture, to be named Quantium Telstra. The joint venture is aligned to Telstra's T25 growth strategy and will help to accelerate its ambition to unlock the value of data and AI for Telstra and its customers.

Kim Krogh Andersen, Telstra's Group Executive Product & Technology, says the proliferation of 5G and IoT data is creating significant opportunities for Telstra and its customers.

"In a world of disruption, making sense of complex data sets quickly and securely is a must for businesses. The delivery of end-to-end data and AI services is a multi-billion-dollar opportunity in Australia and the joint venture is well-positioned to capture a share of this opportunity," adds Andersen.

"When you look at the supply chain sector for example, the integration of data and AI services can improve demand forecasting, capacity planning and route optimisation. We see similar opportunities to deliver better business outcomes for our customers through advanced AI services in mining, energy, agriculture and government, which will be the initial focus of the joint venture."

The partnership will also accelerate Telstra's digital leadership ambitions under T25 that will see all key business processes improved using AI, and the use of AI to deliver better products, services and experiences for customers.

The joint venture will be led by newly appointed Chief Executive Officer, Sandy Cameron, who will report to a Board that has been established.

"Cameron brings a wealth of customer, strategy and data experience, most recently as a Data and AI product executive at Telstra. This expertise will guide the joint venture and ensure it delivers on its vision to provide value to Telstra and our customers over the coming years," notes Andersen.

Quantium CEO Adam Driussi said they looked forward to seeing the partnership grow in the coming years.

"We are delighted to partner with Telstra to unlock the potential of data and AI across its business and for its customers," he says.

"The three key ingredients in any digital transformation are cutting-edge smart networking and connectivity, superb IT and world-class data science and AI. This partnership brings all these ingredients together to help unlock growth for Telstra and deliver enhanced experiences and value for its customers."

"When you combine Quantium's global leadership in data science and AI, with Telstra's leading network, IoT, cloud and edge solutions, you get a unique 'whole of tech stack' proposition. On top of this, the 2,000-strong Telstra Purple team of technology experts will help the joint venture's enterprise customers design, deliver and manage tailored solutions across cloud, cybersecurity, and software development."

"Quantium is known for offering Australian data science professionals the most diverse and exciting career experiences around. This partnership further enhances the opportunities for our people to apply their skills to ground-breaking work across a wide range of industry sectors."

"We look forward to working with Telstra to create innovative data science and AI solutions capable of solving the toughest challenges faced by businesses today."

The establishment of the Quantium Telstra joint venture follows a memorandum of understanding the two organisations signed in November 2021. The Telstra and Quantium teams have been working closely since then and are ready to start working with enterprise customers.