Accenture buys German automotive technology consultancy AOX

AOX, a German technology consulting company and software house specialised in the automotive sector, has been snapped up by Accenture.

The third deal for Accenture in Germany this year, following Consus Health and Parsionate, AOX adds more than 50 staff across offices in Villingen-Schwenningen, Karlsruhe, Rosenheim, and Wetzlar.

AOX designs and develops the system architectures and high-performance software that is used in cars, providing its IT expertise to both car manufacturers and their suppliers. The company has since its inception in 2018 built a reputation for helping carmakers and suppliers master the shift from traditional software engineering to developing highly integrated scalable architectures, which are key to stay competitive in the market.

“Software expertise is becoming the dominating factor in the auto market,” explained Christof Horn, who leads the Automotive practice of Accenture’s Industry X group in Europe. “This is where AOX excels. The company’s expertise in high-performance computing, real-time operating systems and the entire software development process makes them an ideal addition to Accenture.”

The deal will see AOX become part of Accenture’s Industry X engineering team. Rainer Oder, co-founder and CEO of AOX, has been appointed a leader within the practice.

“As part of Accenture, we can create exciting new opportunities for our employees and provide the expertise and talent our clients need for major transformation projects. This will help them tackle complex software challenges in the concept phase of products and drive innovation throughout the entire lifecycle,” Oder said.

Christina Raab, market unit lead for Accenture in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, stated: “This acquisition demonstrates our commitment to build long-lasting strategic relationships with our automotive clients and support them along the complex digital value chain.”

Earlier this year, Accenture also closed deals in Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. Worldwide, the company has a long-standing reputation for buying companies to beef up its ranks in high-demand areas.