Aaru’s prediction model simulates consumer behaviour and preferences. The company was co-founded by Cameron Fink, Ned Koh and John Kessler in 2024, and works with political campaigns and businesses.

As part of the investment through Accenture Ventures, creative group Accenture Song will integrate Lumen, Aaru’s model for the private sector, into its AI products and services across new product development, marketing, customer strategy, and customer service.

Aaru uses multi-agent AI systems to create simulations of human behaviour, based on proprietary and public data sources, as an alternative to traditional research such as surveys or focus groups.

Last year, Aaru accurately predicted the outcome of June’s New York Democratic primary within 371 votes, using its AI polling methodology, according to US news publication Semafor.

Accenture did not disclose how much it has invested in Aaru but said the funding will help Aaru to “accelerate its growth and expand its capabilities to meet the increasing demand for AI-driven data and analytics”.

Additionally, Accenture Song’s chief strategy officer Baiju Shah will become a strategic adviser to Aaru.

Shah said: “The widening gap between what companies offer and what customers expect has created an urgency to innovate. Anticipating customers and uncovering new growth opportunities using AI-powered agents is now a strategic edge for businesses and brands.

“Using Aaru, our creatives and strategists will be able to more accurately simulate entire audiences in a matter of minutes, unlocking customer insights where we couldn’t before. This is a period of incredibly exciting change, where platforms like Aaru will reinvent how we design and deliver products, services, and marketing campaigns.”

Fink, chief executive at Aaru, said: “Current methods of understanding customers are often limited by issues like sampling bias, data access, self-reporting bias, and scalability problems – not to mention the time taken to gather and analyze this data.

“Simulation is an incredibly powerful tool and will be the differentiator between companies that lead the market and those that fall behind in the AI age. Partnering with Accenture will accelerate the deployment of our prediction technology and unlock the full potential of Aaru across a wide range of industries.”

Accenture has invested in Aaru through its Accenture Ventures’ Project Spotlight investment programme, which focuses on companies that create or apply disruptive enterprise technologies. Previous investments include Cresta, a business that has developed an AI-based platform for contact centres.