According to CRN, data and AI consultancies Indicium and Mesh-AI are merging to create a new global powerhouse called Indicium AI, with the deal expected to close in the first quarter of 2026. The combined company will operate across North America, Latin America, and Europe, serving multinational clients including National Grid, PepsiCo, Roche, and Experian. Matheus Dellagnelo, Indicium’s co-founder and CEO, emphasized the growing demand for specialized data and AI services as companies move beyond narrow AI experiments to enterprise-wide implementations. Kelly Manthey, formerly Americas CEO at Valtech, has been hired as global CEO of the new entity, while Dellagnelo will become CEO Americas and Mesh-AI’s Jacob Parsons will serve as CEO Europe. Both companies share backing from venture firm Columbia Capital and will maintain their existing partnerships with major tech platforms including Databricks, Anthropic, AWS, OpenAI, and Microsoft.
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The consultancy consolidation wave is here
This merger feels like the start of something bigger in the AI consulting space. We’ve seen this pattern before – when a technology goes mainstream, the specialist service providers start consolidating to achieve scale. And right now, every enterprise is scrambling to figure out their AI strategy beyond just chatbots and proof-of-concepts.
Here’s the thing: companies are realizing that to actually get value from AI, they need to embed it across entire business processes. Think supply chain management, capital management, customer operations – the whole enchilada. That requires consultancies with both deep technical expertise and global reach. Which is exactly what this merger aims to create.
Why geographic reach matters now
The timing here is fascinating. We’re at that inflection point where companies want to scale their AI initiatives globally, but they’re hitting a wall with regional providers. Having operations across three continents means Indicium AI can serve multinational clients with consistent quality and coordination. That’s becoming table stakes for winning big enterprise contracts.
Look at their client roster – National Grid, PepsiCo, Roche. These aren’t companies dabbling in AI. They’re looking for partners who can deliver at scale across their global operations. The combined company’s presence in financial hubs like New York and London, plus their Latin American footprint, gives them a serious competitive edge.
The partnership chess game continues
What’s really interesting is how this merger brings together different technology alliances. Indicium is deeply tied to Databricks – so much so that Databricks Ventures invested in them last September. Meanwhile, Mesh-AI works closely with Anthropic. Both have relationships with AWS, OpenAI, and Microsoft.
Basically, they’re covering all the major AI infrastructure bases. For enterprise clients who are still figuring out their preferred AI stack, having a consultancy that can work across multiple platforms is incredibly valuable. It removes the vendor lock-in risk that many companies fear.
What this means for the market
So where does this leave other AI consultancies? Smaller regional players might struggle to compete as enterprises demand global scale. We’ll probably see more mergers like this as the market matures. The big systems integrators like Accenture and Deloitte will need to watch their backs too – these specialized AI shops are coming for their lunch.
The 2026 completion timeline gives them plenty of time to integrate properly, which is smart. Merging consultancies is tricky business – you’re combining cultures, methodologies, and client relationships. But if they get it right, Indicium AI could become a major force in the enterprise AI services landscape. The race to become the go-to AI implementation partner is officially on.
