The telco’s new subsidiary rolls together FX Innovation, HGC Technologies and CloudKettle, smaller companies it’s acquired over the past two years. Ateko is intended to offer “AI-driven automation and technology collaboration” backed by Bell’s telecom networks and expertise, Bell said in its announcement. (The Logic)
Talking point: Bell has been trying to transform itself from a telco to a “techco,” as its 2023 annual report put it, though with minimal success so far: its overall earnings have slipped and it has laid off thousands of workers. By creating a dedicated professional-services subsidiary, Bell is following a path set by Telus, whose Telus Digital offers everything from digital marketing to datasets to train AI models. The new CEO of Ateko (a name derived from “automation and tech collaboration, Bell said) is Guillaume Bazinet, who co-founded FX Innovation in 2002.