McKinsey and C3 partner to accelerate AI adoption in manufacturing, energy and finance

McKinsey and C3 AI have formed a strategic alliance to help enterprises accelerate their AI transformations, combining McKinsey’s QuantumBlack AI practice with C3 AI’s enterprise software capabilities.

Partnership overview: McKinsey and C3 AI announced their collaboration at Davos, aiming to deliver enterprise-scale AI solutions across multiple industries.

• The alliance merges QuantumBlack’s technical expertise and industry deployment experience with C3 AI’s enterprise and agentic AI software applications
• The partnership focuses on addressing complex business challenges, from supply chain optimization to asset performance management
• QuantumBlack, acquired by McKinsey 10 years ago, brings extensive experience in AI technologies, tools, and IP development

Key focus areas: The alliance will initially target three primary sectors with specialized solutions.

• Manufacturing solutions will focus on improving throughput, uptime, product quality, and supply chain optimization
• Energy sector implementations will emphasize production enhancement, safety improvements, and productivity gains
• Financial services applications will address fraud detection, risk management, and customer experience personalization

Technical capabilities: The partnership brings together complementary technological strengths to deliver comprehensive AI solutions.

• C3 AI provides pre-built, industry-specific AI applications that can be quickly deployed and customized
• McKinsey’s global scale and organizational expertise enables enterprise-wide implementation and transformation
• The alliance emphasizes risk mitigation and accelerated adoption through combined expertise

Leadership perspective: Key executives from both companies have expressed confidence in the alliance’s potential impact.

• Alex Singla, QuantumBlack’s global co-leader, emphasizes the importance of having the right technologies, organizational elements, and mindsets for successful AI transformations
• Ben Ellencweig, senior partner at QuantumBlack, highlights the alliance’s focus on privacy, IP protection, and responsible AI use
• Thomas M. Siebel, C3 AI’s chairman and CEO, stresses the partnership’s commitment to ensuring customer success and ROI

Strategic implications: This collaboration represents a significant shift in how enterprise AI solutions will be delivered and implemented in the corporate landscape.

• The partnership’s emphasis on pre-built solutions and rapid deployment suggests a move toward more standardized, scalable AI implementations
• The focus on specific industry verticals indicates a trend toward specialized, context-aware AI solutions rather than generic applications
• The combination of technical expertise and organizational transformation capabilities addresses both the technological and human aspects of AI adoption