Telstra and Accenture have launched an AI Silicon Valley hub, which is claimed to be a first-of-its-kind innovation facility for Telstra to incubate and accelerate its top priorities.
The two companies announced a joint venture in January 2025, which commenced in April 2025, to rapidly accelerate Telstra’s data and AI roadmap.
As part of the Telstra and Accenture JV, the partners say the hub provides direct access to cutting edge technology, top engineering talent and collaboration spaces with ecosystem partners, such as AWS, Databricks and Microsoft.
Across the seven-year JV, the AI Silicon Valley hub will accelerate Telstra’s foundational AI architecture that will power AI use cases and unlock business intelligence.
It will also drive advanced engineering and applied research and development to fast-track Telstra’s data and AI roadmap.
The hub will connect with teams in Sydney, Melbourne and Bangalore as part of Accenture Connected Innovation Centers, and aims to deliver foundational architecture and solutions that enable Telstra to realise its AI-first ambitions.
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“Advances in AI technology are happening at incredible speed – we’ve seen the conversation shift from generative AI to include agentic AI in the space of months, and this technology will change the game," said Telstra Group Executive for Product and Technology Kim Krogh Andersen.
"To extend our network leadership and reinvent customer experiences, we will take our innovation to the next level by combining our domain expertise with the best AI minds, in the heart of technology advancement, Silicon Valley.”
The initial priorities of the hub include building agentic solutions, real-time model monitoring, working with academia including the Berkeley Sky Labs and Stanford HAI, and collaborating with partners AWS, Databricks and Microsoft.
“Bringing together leading research and engineering talent to innovate and build solutions for our customers and people is exactly what this joint venture is about,” Krogh Andersen said.
"With some of the best minds in emerging tech and advanced AI, and an ecosystem of partners, we’re opening up pathways to access global talent to build technology that creates value for our customers and our people, faster."
Karthik Narain, group chief executive – Technology and CTO, Accenture, described Telstra’s AI strategy as a bold, whole-of-business strategy that sets a new industry standard.
"Strategic partnerships, like what we have with Telstra, are an important source of competitive advantage for winning in this AI era," Narain said.
"They bring out the best out of both organisations.
"This hub represents a nexus of breakthrough innovations for our teams in Silicon Valley, Australia and India, enabling co-development and learning across the ecosystem.”