Agency Comparison
Faculty AI vs Unit8
Comparing AI Consulting options: London vs Lausanne.
Comparison updated August 2026
Side by side
Published data on both agencies. Where one side measurably differs, the dot marks it: the higher score, the lower published rate, the larger team, the more recent review. Which of those is an advantage depends on your brief.
| Attribute | Faculty AI | Unit8 |
|---|---|---|
| Editorial score | 73.3/100 | Higher score: 74.8/100 |
| Hourly rate | Contact for rates | Contact for rates |
| Team size | Larger team: 50-249 | |
| Location | London, United Kingdom | Lausanne, Switzerland |
| Founded | 2014 | 2017 |
| Last reviewed | Aug 4, 2026 | More recent review: Aug 7, 2026 |
What we said about each
Our take on Faculty AI
Published case studies show systems that survived scrutiny most agencies never face—the NHS AI Lab's model-validation process for clinical AI, deployed generative-AI tooling inside Tide's support operation, and an LLM-backed recommender that now sources 25% of Axiom Law's hires. The published work index spans defense, energy, insurance, and government, though many entries are anonymized or brief. Rates are not published and the engagement profile is institutional—expect procurement-grade…
Reviewed Aug 4, 2026
Read the full assessment →Our take on Unit8
The practice is built around Palantir Foundry, and the published work shows what that buys: a supply-chain control tower that cut a global retailer's out-of-stock levels by half, early-warning indicators for risk and fraud at a major Swiss bank, a Foundry center of excellence at a financial institution, and a blending-optimization algorithm at a Swiss chemical company reported at roughly CHF 400,000 saved per year. Client names appear on the roster (Daimler, Merck, Swiss Re, Firmenich, WWF)…
Reviewed Aug 7, 2026
Read the full assessment →Best for
Where each agency measurably leads on the published data — team capacity, declared specializations, editorial scoring, and rates where both publish them. Use these to match an agency to your project priorities.
Choose Faculty AI if you need
- closer collaboration at a smaller team scale
- disclosed specialization in Public Sector / Legal
- broader service offering — also covers AI Automation and AI Agents
Choose Unit8 if you need
- larger team capacity for multi-stream or enterprise-scale programs
- disclosed specialization in Manufacturing
Strengths and watch-outs
Both upsides and risks, straight from our editorial assessments.
Faculty AI
Strengths
- Published 10% ticket-handling-time reduction at Tide, with the deployed tools named (AgentAssist, MemberSummarise on Amazon Bedrock)
- Applied AI since 2014 with an in-house fellowship talent pipeline—delivery here predates the LLM wave
- NHS England's deputy director of AI is quoted crediting the validation work in the published study
Watch-outs
- Much of the work index is anonymized (military, challenger bank)—ask for a speakable reference in your sector
- No published rates; budget for institutional procurement timelines
Unit8
Strengths
- Over 250 delivered data and AI projects and 150+ staff with prior experience at Apple, Amazon, Google and Palantir
- Certified partner across Palantir, OpenAI, NVIDIA, AWS, Snowflake, Databricks and Dataiku—platform choice is unlikely to be constrained by one vendor relationship
- Named fastest-growing Swiss company by the Financial Times in 2022, with Sagard NewGen backing the current phase
Watch-outs
- Ask which engagements ran outside Foundry if you do not intend to adopt it
- Most case studies describe the client by sector rather than by name—request a speakable reference in yours
- The Zurich presence is an office; the head office and registered entity are in Lausanne
Service coverage
Where the two overlap, and where each covers ground the other does not.
Industry coverage
Where the two overlap, and where each covers ground the other does not.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has more Healthcare experience, Faculty AI or Unit8?
- Both agencies show documented Healthcare work. Faculty AI has the broader industry stack overall, with disclosed experience in Public Sector, Legal beyond their shared focus.
- Which scores higher overall, Faculty AI or Unit8?
- Unit8 scores 74.8/100, 1.5 points higher than Faculty AI at 73.3/100. See our methodology for how scores are calculated.
- When should I consider both Faculty AI and Unit8?
- Consider running parallel discovery briefs with Faculty AI and Unit8 if your project spans multiple workstreams, you want competitive proposals to compare scope and approach, or you're undecided between the specialization angles each brings (see the Best for cards above). Most engagements ultimately go with one — but the parallel-brief phase is a low-cost way to validate fit.
Read the full reviews
A side-by-side is a starting point. The full assessments carry the portfolio analysis, documented engagements, and the evidence behind every strength and watch-out above.