&above vs Faculty AI

Two very different ways to buy AI delivery. Every fact below is sourced and dated, including the ones that do not flatter us.

Published 3 Nov 2026Facts checked 3 Nov 2026By Josh King, CTO & Co-Founder
Independent

&above

AI consultancy and product development. Embedded engineers, product and design inside your team.

Size
25 people
Founded
2018
Owner
Independent
Own platform
Agent Mesh, owned by the client
Part of Accenture

Faculty AI

AI strategy, design, infrastructure, development, operations and change, plus its own Frontier platform.

Size
400+ AI native professionals joined Accenture
Founded
2014
Owner
Accenture, since 16 March 2026
Own platform
Frontier, a decision intelligence platform

Built with teams at

  • Google
  • YouTube
  • Revolut
  • Tesco
  • dataiku
  • Sage
  • choreograph
  • SMARTLY.IO

The short answer

Faculty is now Accenture's AI arm.&above is a small independent team that builds inside yours.

Faculty has been part of Accenture since 16 March 2026. It offers AI strategy, design, infrastructure, development, operations and change, builds its own Frontier platform, and suits large, high-stakes AI programmes, especially in government, defence and health.

&above suits product and tech teams who want AI products built with embedded engineers, product and design. Which fits better depends on the size of the programme and who you want working inside your team.

At a glance

Head to head comparison

Only the facts we have checked and dated. Every source is listed further down the page.

What we compared &aboveFaculty AI
Size25 peopleMore than 400 'AI native professionals' joined Accenture with Faculty on 16 March 2026
Founded20182014
Location1st Floor, The Binary, 27 Copperfield St, London SE1 0ENLevel 5, 160 Old Street, London EC1V 9BW
Owner or parent companyIndependentPart of Accenture since 16 March 2026
What they build, in their own wordsAI consultancy and product development: we automate the workflows your team runs every week, and build the AI products your customers useCore services in AI Strategy, AI Design, AI Infrastructure, AI Development, AI Operations and AI Change, plus specialist AI Due Diligence and AI Safety
Public sector workNoneLists public services, defence, national security and law enforcement, and health and care among the 12 sectors it serves
Own products or platformsAgent Mesh, a connected agent framework deployed as a service and owned by the clientFrontier, a 'Decision Intelligence platform'

Strengths

Where each one is genuinely stronger

Where &above is stronger

&above

  1. 01

    Product and design in the same team

    Our AI Product Squads put designers, engineers and product managers in one embedded team, to shape what to build from the outcome you need and ship it to production.
  2. 02

    A team that grows with the scope

    Engagements start with forward-deployed engineers against a scoped workflow and expand into a full AI Product Squad once the scope proves out.
  3. 03

    Agent Mesh, deployed as a service

    A connected agent framework our AI engineers deploy and run inside your business. Your knowledge, your workflows, your IP to keep.
  4. 04

    You own what we build

    Portable across model providers and extendable by your own team, so the capability transfers in-house over time.

Who we've built for

Where Faculty AI is stronger

Faculty AI

  1. 01

    Government, defence and health

    Faculty built the NHS Covid Early Warning System, and lists public services, defence, national security and law enforcement, and health and care among the sectors it serves. &above has no public sector work.
  2. 02

    Specialist AI safety work

    AI Safety and AI Due Diligence are specialist services at Faculty, alongside its six core AI services. &above does not offer either as a separate service.
  3. 03

    Its own platform

    Faculty builds Frontier, which it calls a Decision Intelligence platform, and Accenture says Frontier joins its product suite. &above builds on the stack that suits each client and does not sell a platform.
  4. 04

    Accenture behind it

    Faculty has been part of Accenture since 16 March 2026, and more than 400 AI native professionals joined Accenture with it. For a buyer who wants an AI team inside a global firm, that is what Faculty now offers.
  5. 05

    Training at scale

    Faculty's Fellowship programme says it has trained more than 500 Fellows.

The decision

When to choose each

Choose &above if

  • You're a product or tech team that wants an AI product built and shipped, with engineering, product and design in one embedded team.
  • You have a scoped workflow and want senior engineers in your team to automate it, with the capability passing to your people as it ships.
  • You want to test the idea with an AI Launchpad workshop or a proof of concept before a larger build.
  • You want to own what we build: your roadmap, your IP and your system.

Choose Faculty AI if

  • You run a large AI programme in government, defence, national security or health.
  • You want specialist AI safety or AI due diligence work.
  • You want a decision intelligence platform such as Frontier as part of the work.
  • You already buy from Accenture and want AI delivery through the same firm.

Honestly

When we're not the right fit

  • A regulated, multi-country programme that needs a global firm.
  • Public sector work: we have not done any.

How it works

How an engagement works with us

Three steps, from a fixed-scope workshop to an embedded squad.

  1. 01

    AI Launchpad workshop

    A fixed-scope workshop to validate value before a larger build.

  2. 02

    Proof of concept

    Built on sample data, so the approach is tested before the investment.

  3. 03

    Embedded squad

    Delivery that ships working software from the first sprints.

The work

Featured work

  • Google Cloud enterprise sales agent interface

    Google Cloud

    Enterprise agents that find the next deal.

    Thousands of sellers, products and sales decks. Now sellers turn to an AI sidekick that connects CRM insight with hundreds of resources and reveals the next best opportunity.

    5,000 monthly active users, avg. 64% time saving

  • Tesco retail media creative workflow

    Tesco

    Retail media. Four weeks, to live in days.

    Complex guidelines and manual approvals slowed every campaign down. Now compliance is built into the workflow, so teams spot issues early and launch in days.

    From four weeks to days with agents for retail creative

  • Upstix AI property valuation app

    Upstix

    Life's biggest transaction. In 7 days.

    Valuations take time and lead qualification is manual, so momentum is easily lost. Now homeowners get an instant AI-powered valuation and agents follow up automatically.

    7x qualified leads in 12 months with sales agents

Questions

Frequently asked questions

How does &above compare to Faculty AI?
&above is a small, independent London team that embeds engineers, product and design inside yours to build and ship AI products. Faculty is now Accenture's AI arm, offering AI strategy, design, infrastructure, development, operations and change, and its own Frontier platform. The table above sets the two side by side, with a source on every line.
&above vs Faculty AI: which should we choose?
Choose &above if you want an AI product built and shipped with an embedded squad that you own. Choose Faculty if you run a large programme in government, defence, national security or health, want specialist AI safety work, or want delivery through Accenture. The decision section above lists the cases for each.
Should we hire an embedded AI delivery team like &above or a big consultancy?
An embedded team like &above puts engineering, product and design inside your team and hands the capability to your people as it ships. A large consultancy suits a regulated, multi-country programme that needs a global firm. We set out where each fits in the decision section, including where we are not the right fit.
Is &above a good agency for AI consulting?
&above is an AI consultancy and product development team. Our AI Product Squads put designers, engineers and product managers in one embedded team, and we deploy Agent Mesh, a connected agent framework your business owns. Our work for Google Cloud, Tesco and Upstix is in the featured work above.
Who is Faculty AI best for?
Faculty suits large, high-stakes AI programmes, especially in government, defence and health. It lists public services, defence, national security and law enforcement, and health and care among the sectors it serves, offers specialist AI safety and AI due diligence, and builds its own Frontier platform.
Is Faculty still independent?
No. Faculty has been part of Accenture since 16 March 2026, and more than 400 AI native professionals joined Accenture with it. &above is independent.
How do I check these facts?
Every source is listed in Sources and method below, each with the date we read it. Facts about &above come from andabove.com and our named case studies, except our founding year, team size and public sector work, which Josh King confirmed on 3 November 2026. If something is wrong, email hello@andabove.com.

Sources and method

How we checked all of this

Every source on this page

We read each source on the date shown and use Faculty's own words where we describe what it does. Facts about &above come from andabove.com and our named case studies, except our founding year, team size and public sector work, which Josh King confirmed on 3 November 2026.

Where we have not checked a fact, we leave it out rather than state it.

Spotted something wrong?

Email hello@andabove.com. We reply to a correction within 5 working days, and change the page if you're right. We re-check every fact at least every six months, and sooner when a firm announces news.

Next step

Bring us the workflow you'd automate first.

Thirty minutes on one scoped workflow, and a straight answer on what it takes to ship it.

&above AI product work for Google Cloud