IBM announced on Monday that it has acquired Hakkoda, a New York-based consultancy specializing in data and artificial intelligence solutions. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Mohamad Ali, Senior Vice President and Head of IBM’s consulting business, stated that acquiring Hakkoda will significantly enhance IBM’s capabilities to assist clients, especially those in sectors such as financial services, public sector, healthcare, and life sciences, by pairing its robust consulting unit with advanced AI capabilities.
Ali described Hakkoda’s strengths in data expertise, its well-established technology partnerships, and asset-centric delivery model as key factors that will allow IBM to provide immediate value to customers undergoing AI-driven transformations.
This latest move underscores IBM’s ongoing strategic push into AI and automation. Earlier this year, IBM acquired DataStax—a platform focused on developing AI applications—and recently finalized a major purchase of HashiCorp, an automation firm specializing in infrastructure and security services.
IBM’s heightened emphasis on AI has proved successful, with consulting services comprising the bulk of its artificial intelligence revenue streams. The company marked its strongest quarterly revenue gain in half a decade during Q4 2024, attributed largely to surging AI demand, resulting in a significant uplift in its share price. IBM revealed total AI-related bookings and sales surpassing $5 billion since inception.
Founded in 2021 by former Deloitte General Manager Erik Duffield, Hakkoda guides enterprises in migrating data to cloud environments, notably leveraging the Snowflake data infrastructure. The company has built proprietary solutions designed to facilitate data migration, transformation, and modernization processes from legacy platforms to contemporary cloud-based systems.
Prior to being acquired, Hakkoda secured approximately $5.6 million in venture funding. Its investors included Tercera, Lead Edge Capital, and Casimir Holdings.
Erik Duffield confirmed that as part of the acquisition, Hakkoda’s workforce consisting of hundreds of consultants located across the United States, Latin America, India, Europe, and the United Kingdom will join the IBM Consulting division.
In a public statement, Duffield expressed enthusiasm about the deal, highlighting compatibility between Hakkoda’s proactive approach to digital transformation and IBM’s innovation-driven history. He emphasized the partnership as an ideal opportunity to expand Hakkoda’s modern data consultancy services onto a global scale under IBM’s expansive infrastructure and client relationships.
