KPMG Launched New AI and Innovation Group

The firm consolidated its internal technology functions to accelerate the development of AI-native business ventures.

Updated on Sept. 22, 2026 in Artificial Intelligence

Isometric editorial illustration of a complex, interlocking geometric structure representing a corporate venture studio, using a palette of oxblood, teal, and slate. — KPMG has consolidated its AI and ecosystem operations into a new Client Technology & Innovation group designed to function as an agile, internal venture studio. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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KPMG has established a new Client Technology & Innovation group to streamline its AI and ecosystem operations into a single, high-speed unit. The firm intends for the division to function as an internal venture studio that bypasses traditional corporate committees to foster rapid innovation.

Why it matters

By centralizing these functions, KPMG aims to develop and scale AI-native businesses with the agility of a start-up. This shift follows internal challenges with AI-generated content and signals a push for greater oversight in emerging technology adoption.

KPMG introduced an internal AI tool named Hawk to detect hallucinations in content. This follows June 2026 findings by GPTZero, which identified fabricated citations in reports from KPMG and major peers, including a 60% hallucination rate at EY and 84% AI-generation probability at PwC.

The players

Todd Lohr

He serves as the vice chair of the newly created Client Technology & Innovation group and has a 15-year tenure at the firm.

Steve Chase

He led the development of the firm's original AI and Digital Innovation group and is set to retire in September 2026.

KPMG

It is a global professional services network and one of the Big Four accounting organizations.

The details

The new group replaces the former AI and Digital Innovation unit and will operate as an internal venture studio to incubate disruption projects. Led by Todd Lohr, the team will leverage previous architectural alliances with companies including Anthropic, Google Cloud, Microsoft, OpenAI, and Databricks.

2008: Todd Lohr co-founded a financial-services consulting start-up.
2023: Steve Chase began building KPMG's original AI and Digital Innovation group.
June 2026: GPTZero detected fabricated citations in a KPMG International report.
September 22, 2026: KPMG launched the Client Technology & Innovation group.
September 30, 2026: Steve Chase is scheduled to retire from the firm.

The Tech Race

KPMG's consolidation follows the industry-wide trend of establishing internal venture studios to compete with agile tech-native firms. This evolution marks a departure from traditional consulting structures, positioning the firm to better integrate alliances with major providers like Google Cloud and Microsoft.

Clients may see faster deployment of AI-native tools and potentially more reliable reporting due to the new Hawk verification system. The restructuring aims to improve the quality of technology-driven services provided to enterprises across the United States.

The takeaway

The firm is prioritizing content accuracy by integrating internal detection tools as it shifts toward a more agile business model. This organizational pivot highlights how legacy institutions are attempting to mimic the rapid development cycles of the start-up world.