How QuantumBlack Drives Global AI and Agentic Transformation

Transform faster. Innovate smarter. Anticipate the future. This is the mantra of QuantumBlack, the AI consulting firm owned by McKinsey.

Positioned at the forefront of the rapidly evolving AI consulting landscape, QuantumBlack has built a reputation for combining deep technical capability with strong business insight.

Since being acquired by McKinsey in 2015, the firm has expanded into a global AI transformation unit. Its specialists focus on delivering measurable value through machine learning strategy, advanced analytics and enterprise technology solutions.

“The magic of QuantumBlack is the combination of rigorous science and real software craftsmanship,” says Tomás Lajous, Senior Partner and Global Leader of QuantumBlack Labs.

“Our people think like researchers and build like product engineers – so the solutions we create don’t just work in theory; they stand up in complex, real-world environments.”

AI value creation through hybrid intelligence

QuantumBlack’s roots lie in high performance environments. Founded in 2009, the company initially helped Formula 1 racing teams gain a competitive edge through advanced data analytics and performance modelling.

Those origins continue to shape the culture of its teams, who still apply the data driven mindset of F1 organisations that “live and breathe data”.

Today, QuantumBlack blends powerful AI capabilities with deep industry knowledge and strategic thinking to support digital transformation across sectors.

A key concept behind the firm’s approach is hybrid intelligence, which combines human expertise with algorithmic precision.

By integrating these capabilities, QuantumBlack helps organisations redesign operations, scale AI initiatives and prepare for future business challenges.

“QuantumBlack is no longer just a boutique insight team – it’s becoming a global force,” says Alex Singla, Senior Partner and Global Co-leader of QuantumBlack.

“As we scale up, we’re taking sophisticated AI capabilities into entire enterprise systems, delivering impact at an order of magnitude that few teams in our industry can.

“The first decade of QuantumBlack proved what’s possible. The next will redefine what’s imaginable. We’re just getting started.”

Agents at scale

At the heart of the organisation’s innovation efforts is QuantumBlack Labs. This hub brings together technologists, engineers and designers to develop tools and frameworks that accelerate AI adoption while reducing implementation risk.

The firm has created more than 25 proprietary tools. These include Iguazio, a holistic AI platform that helps manage AI applications at scale, Turo, an application designed to automate KPI collection and Optimus AI, a data insights tool that supports real time decision making in heavy industries such as mining, metals and chemicals.

As AI capabilities advance rapidly, QuantumBlack has also developed Agents at Scale, a factory of AI agents designed to collaborate and deliver complex digital transformation projects.

Emily Sagar-Jones, principal data scientist at QuantumBlack, AI by McKinsey, describes the concept as “a digital factory floor” where work is “done by agents we’d built”.

“It all started over two years ago with experiments in using Gen AI to modernise legacy code,” Emily notes.

“Fast forward to last summer, we began exploring AI agents – and today, we’re building Agentic workforces that are reshaping how our clients operate.

“What began as a ‘what if?’ idea, has evolved into a scalable solution that automates complex workflows and delivers real, measurable business impact.”

QuantumBlack’s agents can now handle complex end to end operations with high accuracy. Their capabilities range from generating coding architecture by decoding business logic to coder agents that produce clean and functional software code.

These systems are currently achieving accuracy rates of more than 90%, leaving only around 10% of code to be reviewed and corrected by human specialists.

“This work goes far beyond building technology – it’s about unlocking value for clients and their people,” Emily says.

“A major part of our role is bridging the gap between cutting-edge technology and industry expertise. Many clients have little prior exposure to agentic systems, so we focus on designing processes with them, validating outputs together and helping them build the capabilities to sustain the work long after we leave.”

Position in AI consulting

Integrating advanced AI capabilities across its operations has positioned QuantumBlack strongly within the competitive AI consulting market.

The firm combines deep technical expertise with practical industry knowledge to support organisations pursuing large scale technology transformation.

By using agentic AI systems alongside custom built tools designed for specific operational tasks, the team helps organisations move beyond pilot projects and proofs of concept. The focus is on scalable AI deployments that deliver measurable outcomes.

Its work spans industries including retail, life sciences, telecommunications and energy. Across these sectors, QuantumBlack applies machine learning strategy and generative AI solutions to unlock growth, efficiency and innovation.

Through a combination of strategic guidance, technical delivery and capability building within client organisations, QuantumBlack continues to act as a trusted partner for businesses seeking to realise the full potential of AI.