December 17, 2025 The global surge in artificial intelligence (AI) workloads is driving an unprecedented demand for specialized data center infrastructure, prompting major industry players to rapidly expand their technical and engineering capabilities through strategic acquisitions. This week, two significant deals were announced, highlighting the intense competition to secure expertise in data center design and construction. Consulting and technology giant Accenture has entered into an agreement to acquire a 65 percent majority stake in DLB Associates, a US-based AI data center engineering and consulting firm. Separately, AI cloud and data center firm Nscale has acquired European construction advisory firm Future-tech. Financial terms for both transactions were not disclosed. Accenture's acquisition of DLB, a firm founded in 1980 with approximately 620 employees, is aimed at expanding its end-to-end data center offerings for software, platform, and high-tech clients. The move is part of a broader acquisition spree by Accenture since 2023 to build out its infrastructure capabilities, having previously purchased firms like Anser Advisory in the US, Soben in the UK, and Comtech in Canada. Julie Sweet, Accenture's chair and CEO, stated, "As AI-driven demand for data center capacity accelerates, our clients increasingly face infrastructure constraints that impact their core value chains." DLB CEO David Quirk added that joining Accenture would allow the firm to "unleash our ability to match that scale" for next-generation AI data centers. Concurrently, Nscale, an AI cloud firm spun out from Arkon Energy in May 2024, has acquired Future-tech to accelerate its data center build-outs. The deal brings around 60 staff from Future-tech into Nscale's operations. This acquisition follows a substantial 2.8 billion Norwegian kroner ($274 million) investment from Aker in September 2025, which made the firm a major shareholder in Nscale. Nscale currently operates a 30MW facility in Glomfjord, Norway, with plans to double its capacity there to 60MW, and has further developments planned in Fauske, Narvik, and London. The company also leases significant capacity from providers in Iceland, Portugal, and Texas, much of it destined for major tech clients including Microsoft and OpenAI. These acquisitions signal a strategic consolidation within the data center industry, as firms vertically integrate specialized design and engineering talent to overcome bottlenecks and meet the explosive, AI-fueled demand for compute capacity. Companies are seeking to control more of the development lifecycle—from site selection and design to construction and operations—to ensure speed, scale, and reliability for their clients. Source: datacenterdynamics
Accenture and Nscale Bolster AI Infrastructure Capabilities with Strategic Acquisitions
