PwC acquires a stake in Westphalia DataLab

The consulting firm is buying just under 20 percent of the shares. With this, PwC wants to offer predictive data analysis.

The auditing and consulting firm PwC Germany is taking a stake of just under 20 percent in Westphalia DataLab from Münster. A purchase price was not disclosed.

The AI startup, founded in Münster in 2017, offers scalable data science software products for companies and helps them develop data-driven business models. It said its predictions are up to 94 percent accurate. The software can be used, for example, by fashion companies or retailers to plan their procurement of goods or by freight forwarders to plan the routes of their trucks more accurately and with greater foresight. "The fact that companies collect data has long been standard. The challenge is to use this data really effectively," says Ulrich Störk, spokesman for the management of PwC Germany. "It is precisely this benefit that we will be able to generate even better in the future through our participation in the Westphalia DataLab. Thanks to WDL's technical-methodological expertise and our comprehensive industry knowledge, we provide our clients with insights into previously undiscovered correlations within their data. In this way, we create trustworthy predictions for business decisions that our customers can rely on."

Westphalia DataLab and PwC now aim to provide predictive analytics for clients. Using AI software, this involves making predictions and forecasts that can reduce risks, optimise operations and increase revenue. PwC Germany hopes to be able to offer even more targeted forecasts in the future based on pre-trained algorithms. The joint offerings are aimed at the retail, industrial manufacturing and logistics sectors. There is also a focus on small and medium-sized enterprises.