International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM), the world's largest provider of technology services, has formed a new business unit to capitalize on the recent upsurge in artificial intelligence.
The new Cognitive Business Solutions group’s 2,000 employees will advise companies in how to take advantage of IBM’s Watson artificial-intelligence software, the Armonk, New York-based company said in a statement on Tuesday.
The division will be run by Stephen Pratt, previously an executive in the consulting practice at Indian outsourcer Infosys.
Introduced in 2011, Watson excels at analyzing vast quantities of information to uncover relationships that humans might miss.
IBM believes it could serve as the core of a new generation of ultrasmart digital assistants in data-heavy industries such as medicine, financial management and oil-and-gas exploration.
Shares closed up 3.1% at $149.04 on Monday, trimming this year’s loss to 7.1%.