Valliance, a new breed of consultancy set up to create true value from AI, launches today with $15 million in private equity backing from Siguler Guff and Company, LP, a private markets investment firm. The news comes as data shows traditional consultancies are failing to help enterprises achieve AI success – all while charging businesses billions for services that aren’t fit for purpose.
Valliance, which is AI-native by design, aims to end this unnecessary waste with a radical new model: charging based on value delivered, without relying on billable hours and impractical solutions.
A survey of 1,000 senior leaders at some of the UK’s largest enterprises (annual tech spend >£20M), revealed businesses are accelerating their investments into AI across the board (90%). A fifth of that spend (21%) is attributed to external consultancies – yet half of these projects are falling short of expectations.
Respondents spent an average of £39.2m on AI in the last year, with consultant fees accounting for £8.4m of the total from each business. With 8,335 large enterprises in the UK, that equates to a national AI bill of some £326.8bn, with more than £66.1bn of this going on consultancies – mostly without ROI. Just 45% of all projects have metrics set from the start, meaning that for more than half, true success is near impossible to gauge. When asked why AI projects fail, the most common reason was being too focused on technology over business outcomes (30%).
The biggest firms, those spending over £100m on technology saw an average of £53.08m going towards AI projects alone, meaning they pay out more on consultants (£11.30m) annually, more than a third (31%) of enterprises do on any tech at all.
Valliance’s founding team is made up of entrepreneurs who have honed their skills across global businesses, and who have witnessed legacy consultancy failure firsthand. Tarek Nseir, a leading consultant in the digital transformation era, led groundbreaking work for clients such as ASOS, Allianz, Aston Martin, and JK Rowling as the founder of TH_NK. Tarek’s turning his focus to unlocking the value in the UKs largest businesses alongside Anita Rajdev a seasoned commercial leader, who brings deep expertise in building trusted partnerships with major enterprises. With a proven track record of shaping high-value deals for companies like EPAM Systems and Gemalto, Anita will be instrumental in defining Valliance’s value-driven client relationships. Rad Parvin (previously founder of Just-BI), led global data strategies for brands like Nike, Shell, Heineken and Vodafone. Rad’s focus is using his expertise to build customers’ trust in agentic systems. The founders have already gathered a team of 15 experts in their field, including Dom Selvon, one of the founders of the composable architecture movement and a longtime member of MACH Alliance’s board.
Bolstered by industry-leading system architecture, data and product design skills from their wider team, Valliance has already signed three clients.
Tarek said: “The world is in an AI arms race. Leaders who want to ensure success for the next decade must derive value from the technology now or be left behind – and they need the right advice and guidance to cut through hype and achieve this goal. But the legacy consulting model is broken. The big firms rely on outdated practices that drive up business AI spend and create waste, rather than value. Billions are being spent on science projects and initiatives that will never work in production, and that’s costing enterprises and the economy. Valliance is made for this moment. We’ve drawn from the very best in consulting, tech, data, design and industry to create something entirely new.”
Rad said: “Advice from traditional consultancies is never impartial. You don’t know if the guidance you’re being given is right for your business, or theirs. And they lack the skills and expertise to really understand the AI revolution – you’re effectively paying for their transformation while trying to navigate your own. Valliance will always be independent. Our team of experts has a single aim: to help businesses reduce time to AI value. We’re not here to sell licenses – we’re here to deliver solutions that work for business, and with the existing IT estate.”
Anita said: “We’re not here to sell customers a dream on paper before skating away. We believe in shared success, and that means shared investment of our time. Customers pay us when we’ve created value in live– no billable hours, no bloated teams. Just a focus on the end goal and how we can implement AI to get our clients there.”
Shaun Khubchandani and Justin Eskind from Siguler Guff have joined Valliance’s board, and will be advised by Stephen Treloar who has held senior roles at global insurance giants like Aviva and Allianz.
Shaun said: “Enterprises are under increasing pressure to realise measurable returns on their AI investments, and legacy models built around billable hours simply aren’t fit for that purpose. Valliance’s value-based approach and technical depth align well with how the market must evolve. We have strong conviction in the team’s ability to scale both organically and through acquisition, establishing Valliance as the platform of choice for AI consulting.”
Justin said: “We’re excited to be backing the Valliance team in their bold mission and believe AI’s tectonic shift across technology demands this new model for implementing it — and a team that recognizes the time to build AI in production is now.”
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Methodology
The survey was conducted among 1,000 senior decision makers (Senior Management to CEO) at organisations with >£20 million in annual tech spend whose companies have invested in AI projects in the last 2 years in the Netherlands (250) and the UK (750). The interviews were conducted online by Sapio Research in October 2025 using an email invitation and an online survey.
About Valliance
Valliance is an independent, AI-native firm that is building the AI-enhanced enterprises of the future. This new breed of consultant is backed by private equity investment from Siguler Guff & Company, LP, and adopts an outcome-based model that prioritises measurable impact over billable hours. Located in London and The Hague, Valliance’s team of 15 consultants, technologists, data analysts and designers has been assembled to deliver European businesses the solutions they need to remain competitive today, and understand what’s possible tomorrow.
About Siguler Guff
Siguler Guff is a multi-strategy private markets investment firm which, together with its affiliates, has approximately $18 billion of assets under management. With 30 years of experience investing as a firm in the private markets, Siguler Guff seeks to generate strong, risk-adjusted returns by focusing opportunistically on market niches. Siguler Guff’s investment products include multi-manager funds, direct investment funds and customized separate accounts targeting specific areas of compelling opportunity. The Firm’s core investment strategies include Small Buyout, Emerging Markets, Opportunistic Credit, Real Estate and Small Business Credit. Siguler Guff’s institutional investment knowledge, sector immersion approach and longstanding relationships provide access to compelling investment opportunities within each of its targeted strategies. Founded in 1991 within PaineWebber, Siguler Guff became an independent firm in 1995. The Firm has served more than 800 institutional clients, including corporate and public employee benefit plans, endowments, foundations, government agencies and financial institutions, and more than 1,000 family office and high net worth investors. Headquartered in New York, Siguler Guff maintains offices in Boston, Houston, West Palm Beach, London, Mumbai, São Paulo, Shanghai, Tokyo, Seoul, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Sydney.