With the takeover of the AI boutique Nunatak from Munich, the French consultancy Artefact is entering the market. The goal: to build an alternative to McKinsey and Co.
Macron at the AI Action Summit in Paris: connections to the consultancy Artefact. Photo: AP
Dusseldorf, Paris. The AI consultancy Artefact, which is networked with French President Emmanuel Macron, wants to establish itself and expand in Germany. The French consultancy has now taken over the smaller German competitor Nunatak with offices in Munich, Berlin and Zurich. Those involved confirmed this to the Handelsblatt.
"With Artefact we have found a strong global partner to better implement our mission for German companies. Together we want to significantly expand our offering of integrated AI-controlled transformation and grow faster," said Nunatak founder Robert Jacobi to the Handelsblatt. Both consultancies see themselves as “disruptors” in the consulting business.
The consultancy Artefact has benefited massively from Macron's aggressive AI policy in recent years. With summits, investment incentives and the promotion of billions in investments, the French president is trying to establish France as a European location for artificial intelligence and future technologies.
Artefact became known beyond the consulting industry through the “AI Adopt” conference in Paris, which was initiated in November 2025. This was the follow-up conference to the “AI Action Summit” previously organized by the French government and was intended to promote the introduction and spread of artificial intelligence in business.
According to the organizers, 20,000 entrepreneurs, investors and consultants came to this conference. Macron gave the closing speech. This year Artefact is planning the summit for early December.
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Several personnel details show how well Artefact is connected to French AI policy: The former State Secretary for Digital Affairs, Cédric O, has been strengthening Artefact's board of directors since 2023. As a co-founder of the AI group Mistral, he is considered one of the defining figures in French technology and AI policy in recent years. Former minister Stanislas Guerini also just switched to Artefact. At the end of July, the French transparency authority HATVP approved the change.
Cedric O: Now on the board of directors of Artefact. Photo: imago images/Hans Lucas
Artefact has quickly developed into a visible French AI player in Europe. According to its own information, the consultancy now has around 2,500 employees and is planning sales of 300 million euros for 2026. The business of the company, founded in 2014: It supports companies in the implementation of data and AI applications.
The German competitor Nunatak is not Artefact's first acquisition. The first decisive growth spurt came in 2017 with the merger with the listed digital service provider NetBooster, which temporarily led Artefact to the stock exchange and international markets.
Numerous further acquisitions followed. In July, Artefact announced the purchase of the Belgian company Agilytic, which specializes in data analysis and AI. The British financial investor Cinven has been driving Artefact's expansion since summer 2025. He valued the advice at one billion euros and took over the majority.
With Nunatak, Artefact has now taken over a competitor that is ideally positioned in the German economy. The approximately 50 consultants work for DAX companies such as Allianz and Commerzbank as well as for Deutsche Bahn. Your mission: to advance the transformation of corporations using AI.
Founder and CEO of Nunatak Robert Jacobi: Will lead Artefact's business in Germany in the future. Photo: PR
The co-founder and, to date, sole owner and managing director of Nunatak, Robert Jacobi, will be responsible for the business in Germany. The 49-year-old will become CEO of Artefact Germany. The Nunatak brand will remain intact until further notice. His two previous co-partners Fabian Göbel and Manuel Halbing will also remain at his side. The leadership is completed by three other previous Artefact partners.
According to Vincent Luciani, co-founder and executive chairman of Artefact, the partnership with Nunatak is expected to help Artefact grow to three times its current size by 2030. The DACH region will play a central role in this.
Luciani continues: “With Robert at the helm of Artefact Germany and a newly formed team of a total of six partners, we are creating the management structure and platform to become the leading consulting firm for data and AI for German companies and corporations by the end of the decade.”
Shift in the consulting industry
With Artefact a new size is emerging in the consulting industry. After all, AI has been the top topic for all consulting firms for years. The three leading international management consultancies McKinsey, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and Bain are now broadly positioned here - also thanks to numerous collaborations with tech companies.
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GermanyEmmanuel MacronArtificial IntelligenceCommerzbank
In addition, Ommax, a specialized AI consultancy, has been established in Germany. It wasn't until July that Lutz Finger, who had made a name for himself in Silicon Valley as an AI expert, joined as a new partner. Sandra Welchring is also moving to Ommax in October. She was previously a partner at BCG.
For Anja Konhäuser, co-founder and partner of Ommax, the growth of companies like Artefact or Ommax represents a shift in the consulting market. A new generation of consulting companies is emerging that would combine strategic judgment with the ability to implement AI in a scalable manner and make its impact measurable.
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