Charles Esther
A new generation of boutique consulting firms is emerging, leveraging artificial intelligence to compete with established giants like McKinsey, Bain, and the Big Four.
Unlike traditional firms, these smaller players focus on narrow specialties such as pricing strategy, cost-cutting, and business development.
Their approach aims to make high-level consulting services more accessible and affordable for a wider range of clients.
Many founders of these boutique firms come from prestigious backgrounds in the consulting world, bringing deep expertise and a fresh perspective to the industry.
They are strategically using AI to streamline operations, reduce bureaucracy, and offer more competitive rates.
Xavier AI Revolutionising Business Strategy Consulting
Xavier AI claims to be the world’s first AI-powered strategy consultant.
Founded by Joao Filipe, a former McKinsey consultant, Xavier AI provides clear and actionable business deliverables, such as 60-page business plans, detailed marketing strategies, and sales presentations.
Xavier AI uses a proprietary reasoning engine tailored for business applications, minimising the hallucinations often found in traditional chatbots.
According to Filipe, the firm’s goal is to democratise access to top-tier consulting knowledge, making it affordable for the vast majority of businesses that could never hire MBB firms.
Currently piloting with clients like an international bank, Xavier AI aims to revolutionise how businesses access strategic advice.
Perceptis Streamlining Business Development with AI
Perceptis, co-founded by former McKinsey consultant Alibek Dostiyarov and former Apple engineer Yersultan Sapar, is redefining business development consulting.
Their AI-powered system automates industry research, identifies opportunities, and creates customised proposals, significantly cutting down on manual work.
Initially focused on boutique management consultancies, Perceptis is now expanding its services to IT firms, system integrators, software developers, financial services, and even real estate agencies.
Having raised $3.6 million in funding, Perceptis is poised to make smaller firms more competitive through intelligent automation.
SIB Uncovering Hidden Cost Savings with AI
SIB helps clients such as restaurant groups, hospitals, universities, and government agencies uncover hidden cost savings in areas like telecommunications, utilities, and software licensing.
CEO Shannon Copeland, an alum of Accenture and Deloitte, leads the firm with a contingency model approach — SIB only gets paid if they find savings.
Using AI to monitor vendor contracts and invoices, SIB helps clients negotiate better deals and restructure vendor relationships.
Copeland emphasises that AI enhances human collaboration, enabling stronger, trust-based partnerships between clients and vendors.
Since its founding in 2008, SIB claims to have identified over $8 billion in savings for its clients.
Monevate Focusing on Pricing Strategy for Tech Companies
Founded by James Wilton, a former McKinsey, Kearney, and ZS Associates consultant, Monevate focuses solely on pricing strategy for SaaS and tech companies.
With 16 consultants, Monevate has worked with over 50 tech and AI companies in the past three years.
Wilton identified major gaps in traditional consulting that motivated him to start the firm, including high costs, inflexible models, and inconsistent service quality.
By specialising narrowly in pricing, Monevate ensures even its junior consultants become deep experts in the field.
Their targeted expertise allows them to deliver high-impact results in a fast-evolving tech landscape.
Keystone Building Deep Operational AI Solutions
Keystone, founded in 2003 by Greg Richards and Harvard professor Marco Iansiti, advises tech and life sciences companies, governments, and law firms.
Clients include tech giants like Amazon, Microsoft, and Meta.
Keystone focuses on operational AI, using deep learning models to transform supply chain management, inventory forecasting, and pricing.
Rather than just using generative AI for day-to-day tasks, Keystone embeds AI into core business operations.
Their CoreAI team specialises in building customised AI systems for deep enterprise applications.
Fusion Collective Offering Realistic AI Consulting
Fusion Collective, co-founded by Blake Crawford and Yvette Schmitter, delivers cloud transformation and AI consulting services.
Schmitter stresses that many companies are not yet ready for AI because they lack the necessary infrastructure, data governance, and security protocols.
Rather than selling aspirational AI strategies, Fusion Collective focuses on honest conversations with clients, encouraging them to master fundamentals first.
Their approach emphasises realism, helping organisations lay the groundwork for successful AI adoption.
Slideworks Empowering Consultants with Better Presentations
Slideworks is not a direct competitor to consulting firms but targets an important consulting skill — slide creation.
The firm offers high-end PowerPoint templates and toolkits created by former consultants from Bain, BCG, and McKinsey.
Its products include slide libraries and Excel models for strategy, supply chain, and digital transformation projects.
With over 4,500 customers worldwide, including Coca-Cola, Pfizer, and major consulting firms, Slideworks addresses a critical, often underappreciated, aspect of consulting work.
Unity Advisory Preparing to Disrupt with Big-Name Backing
Unity Advisory, launching in June, is led by former top executives from Ernst & Young and PwC.
Chaired by Steve Varley and CEO Marissa Thomas, the firm is backed by up to $300 million from Warburg Pincus.
Unity Advisory aims to provide client-centric, AI-led consulting services without the legacy infrastructure burdens of the Big Four.
By focusing on tax, accounting, technology consulting, and M&A services, Unity hopes to offer a leaner, conflict-free alternative to traditional firms.
Conclusion The New Face of Consulting is Agile, Specialised, and AI-Driven
A new class of boutique consulting firms is leveraging AI to offer faster, cheaper, and more specialised services.
While giants like McKinsey and Deloitte still dominate, these upstarts are carving out significant niches.
Their ability to combine human expertise with cutting-edge AI gives them a unique advantage in today’s competitive consulting landscape.
