Deloitte acquires public health research firm

Deloitte's government and public services practice has acquired a public health research and consulting company that also touts artificial intelligence as a core competency.

By purchasing Gryphon Scientific, Deloitte is looking to bolster its ability to work with federal and other government agencies on using AI and other data-centric tools to detect and respond to infectious diseases. Terms of the transaction announced Monday were not disclosed.

Gryphon employs a team of scientists, programmers, and policy and planning specialists with experience in areas such as data science, scientific communications, modeling and risk assessment.

The company opened for business in 2005 and has used AI in its research efforts to understand the risks posed by biological and chemical threats. Gryphon also was an inaugural member of the U.S. Artificial Intelligence Safety Institute Consortium, which is managed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

Gryphon has received approximately $5.5 million in unclassified prime contract obligations over the trailing 12 months, according to USASpending.gov data. Substantially all of that spend is from the departments of Homeland Security, Health and Human Services, and Defense.  

With Gryphon now in the fold, Deloitte's public sector team will look to expand its capacity for developing practical AI solutions in health and further build trust in the technology through its Federal Health AI Accelerator organization.

Deloitte is also seeking to grow its expertise in biosecurity, lab safety, data science, and global and domestic emergency preparedness and response by bringing in the Gryphon team.