Firm profileStrategy consultancy

QuantumBlack, AI by McKinsey

QuantumBlack, AI by McKinsey ranks #47 of the 48 ranked firms in the DCF Research directory of data consulting firms, with a DCF Evidence Score of 48/100. Public evidence on file: 2 capability pages, 3 public case studies, public GSA rates.

SubsidiaryAI arm of McKinsey & Company. McKinsey acquired QuantumBlack, then a London-based analytics firm of about 45 employees, in December 2015.

DCF Evidence Score48/100Rank #47 of 48See the breakdown

Headquarters: No single headquarters: McKinsey states it has no 'headquarters' in the traditional sense (its largest office is New York); QuantumBlack was founded in London; Source: mckinsey.com
Founded: 2009; Source: mckinsey.com
Employees: more than 1,400 data scientists (QuantumBlack practice; McKinsey firm-wide headcount is not stated in its 2026 fact sheet) (as of January 2025); Source: medium.com
Website: mckinsey.com

DCF Evidence Score

Computed only from public evidence with a source link. It measures how much a buyer can verify, not delivery quality.

48/100

Rank #47 of 48 ranked firms

Sum of five components, rounded to a whole number.

Platform credentials2/30
Google Cloud partnership (2)
Capability pages6/25
2 of 9 tracked capabilities have a dedicated page on the firm's own site (3 each)
Public case studies25/25
3 public data/AI case studies counted (max 3), 3 naming the client, at least one from 2024 or later
Industry pages10/10
4 industry practice pages counted (max 4)
Rate and review transparency5/10
Public GSA schedule rates for data roles (5)
Total48/100

How the DCF Evidence Score works

Platform credentials

Listings in Snowflake's and Databricks' public partner directories, and documented cloud partnerships, each with its source.

Snowflake

No listing found in Snowflake's partner directory (checked October 23, 2026).

Databricks

No listing found in Databricks' partner directory (checked October 23, 2026).

AWS, Microsoft and Google Cloud

Google CloudFirm's website
McKinsey and Google Cloud announced the McKinsey Google Transformation Group on 2026-04-22, expanding a long-standing partnership (no partner tier stated)
Source: mckinsey.com

Capabilities

2 of 9 tracked capabilities have a dedicated page on QuantumBlack, AI by McKinsey's website.

Data practice page: mckinsey.com/capabilities/quantumblack

Generative AIAI Consulting (QuantumBlack)Generative AI firms →
Data strategyData Delivery & Transformation Data strategy firms →

Public case studies

Published by the firm or its platform partner. Outcomes are as the firm reports them; DCF Research has not verified them.

AI dispute resolution: Modernizing case management
Client
American Arbitration Association
Industry
Legal & Dispute Resolution
Year
2026
Firm-reported outcome: AI Arbitrator may help resolve cases at least 20% faster, with cost savings starting at 35% and a goal of tenfold caseload capacity.
Banking on innovation: How ING uses generative AI to put people first
Client
ING
Industry
Banking
Year
2024
Firm-reported outcome: Gen AI chatbot helped 20% more customers avoid long wait times in its first seven weeks versus the previous chatbot.
Agentic AI in customer service: KPN case study
Client
KPN
Industry
Telecommunications
Year
2026
Firm-reported outcome: Reports employee adoption success above 86%; KPN aims for agentic AI to handle 10-20% of customer service calls by 2027.

Industries

Industry pages on QuantumBlack, AI by McKinsey's website

Compare in the directory

Matched from the firm's industry pages, case studies, and Databricks solution areas.

Rates

Federal ceiling rates (GSA schedule)

McKinsey & Company holds a GSA Multiple Award Schedule contract with 2 data-role rate records. These are federal ceiling rates: the maximum hourly price a US federal buyer can be charged, not a commercial quote.

Minimum: $354/hr
Median: $354/hr
Maximum: $354/hr

Labor category	Min. experience	Ceiling rate
Business Analyst - Data Science	3 years	$354/hr

Fully burdened hourly ceiling prices awarded on GSA Multiple Award Schedule contracts (current contract year). They are maximums for US federal buyers, not commercial quotes; commercial rates for the same roles are often higher. Source: GSA CALC+ labor rates.

DCF Research assessment

Editorial judgment by DCF Research, based only on the sourced evidence on this page. It does not change the score.

QuantumBlack, AI by McKinsey is the AI practice of McKinsey & Company, which acquired it in 2015. It reports more than 1,400 data scientists and documents AI consulting and data delivery services. Its three case studies are AI programs at ING, KPN and the American Arbitration Association, and neither Snowflake nor Databricks lists it.

Best for

Enterprise generative and agentic AI programs in banking or telecom
Google Cloud programs through McKinsey's Google Transformation Group

Watch-outs

McKinsey announced a Databricks partnership in March 2025, yet Databricks' directory does not list it; ask about certifications.
Its $354/hr GSA ceiling rate for a data-science analyst exceeds the 90th percentile of every data role.

Delivery regions (as stated by the firm) Global (McKinsey offices in 65+ countries)

Similar firms

Same segment or the most overlapping capability pages, highest score first.

BCG X
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DataArt
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Rank #1 · Snowflake Elite · Databricks partner · 7 capability pages · 3 public case studies
N-iX
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NTT DATA
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Rank #3 · Snowflake Elite · Databricks partner · 8 capability pages · 3 public case studies · public GSA rates

Sources

Evidence checked October 23, 2026.

Partner directories and rate sources

Company, service, and case-study pages

Found an error or a newer source? Email hello@dataconsultingfirms.com with the page and a link to the evidence.