As Indian companies accelerate their ambitions to embrace artificial intelligence (AI), the ease of execution, speedy implementation and the credibility of trusted partners are becoming as important as the technology itself. The Big Four consulting firms—KPMG, PwC, EY and Deloitte—are teaming up with technology startups and niche service providers to pitch clients a bundled offering of agentic AI, technology overhauls and workplace transformation.
The team-up works for all: advisory firms deepen their technology capabilities without building every solution in-house; startups gain access to a wider enterprise client base that's backed by the Big Four's credibility, and the clients get a trusted one-stop solution that stitches together the entire process.
“The rationale is straightforward. No single firm, however large, can build deep, cutting-edge capability across every emerging technology domain internally,” said Sudeepta Veerapaneni, partner and chief innovation officer at Deloitte India. "Partnering with focused, specialist startups lets us plug proven innovation into enterprise-grade delivery, governance and scale."
These alliances are shaping up at a time when companies across sectors, in the metros and beyond, want to up their digital game but may not have the time or resources to conduct due diligence on the specialized firms offering the services. Enter the Big Four, who offer the entire suite of services, and also vouch for the younger firms.
Take the case of 18-month-old RVAI Global Pvt. Ltd, an agentic AI firm that offers business solutions to companies across sectors. About five months ago, the young firm started working with some of the Big Four. "A dedicated partner from the Big Four is assigned to the startup, and together they approach clients with their solutions. So far, 10 large enterprises have signed on in less than two quarters with [us]," Vijay Sivaram, co-founder of the startup, told Mint.
The opportunity is sizeable and the audit and advisory firms are in fierce competition to offer enterprise-ready solutions.
“In AI alone, we engage with an ecosystem of over 100 startups. Some of them offer differentiated AI products and platforms, while others bring deep expertise in solving highly specific business challenges,” said Mahesh Makhija, partner and technology consulting leader at EY India. “Beyond partnerships, we are also exploring selective acquisitions and acqui-hires in areas that are strategically important to our future growth.”
Rival KPMG's tie-ups include enterprise technology providers, AI innovators, deep-tech firms, industry-specific solution providers, cybersecurity specialists, data and analytics companies, and emerging startups. "As client priorities evolve across AI, functional transformation, digital operations, cyber-security, customer experience and enterprise modernization, they increasingly seek end-to-end outcomes rather than standalone technology deployments," said Akhilesh Tuteja, partner & national leader, clients and markets at KPMG in India.
The governance and compliance processes include standard assessment of technology maturity, security, scalability, GRC (governance, risk, and compliance), conflicts of interest and enterprise readiness checks.
For startups, such partnerships spell growth and recognition. “Indian software startups have found a powerful route to global enterprise customers by partnering with the Big Four system integrators. These firms carry deep customer relationships across every major market, and they have already consulted for hundreds of global capability centres (GCCs) in India for those same clients,” said Pranav Pai, managing partner for venture capital fund 3one4 Capital.
According to tech startup founders in talks with one of the larger advisory and audit firms, it is often easier to approach the Big Four than go directly to a customer. These prospective clients are hesitant, ask for three-plus years of balance sheets and are inundated with requests from similar set-ups, the founders said. The Big Four have a larger base of partners who can do the checks and know what the market wants.
“Many startups offer niche solutions, accelerators and platforms that complement our advisory, implementation and transformation strengths, helping clients shorten their innovation and value-realization cycles,” said Vivek Prasad, chief commercial officer at PwC India.
How the partnership works
Under such partnerships, the consulting firm owns the contract. Contract and service fees differ from one agreement to another. Sometimes it's a service fee the established player charges its client, with a portion passed on to the newer firm. In other cases, it's a tripartite agreement between the advisory firm, the specialist and the client.
"Our alliance and partnership models are designed in a manner where the value delivered to the client determines how compensation is structured between the parties. Structuring depends on factors like IP ownership, delivery responsibility and risk allocation, which are assessed on a case-by-case basis," said Veerapaneni of Deloitte.
EY's Makhija said, depending on the scope, the consulting firm and the startup may work under separate arrangements or through an integrated delivery model with an agreed commercial structure.
Some players inked their pacts with the Big Four years ago, and their experience shows how varied these partnerships can be. HR platform Darwinbox signed up with three of the Big Four about three to four years ago, and Rudraditya Bhattacharya, vice-president and head of partnerships, calls it a "very symbiotic relationship."
"In most scenarios, working with a Big Four firm means both parties need each other, more so than working with a distributor. There are different kinds of partners in the market: a distributor, a reseller, a strategic partner, and an implementation partner," said Bhattacharya, putting the Big Four into the strategic partner slot.