KPMG enters the Metaverse, invests US$ 30M in Web3 employee training

KPMG, one of the Big Four audit accounting firms in Canada and the United States, announced the opening of its first Metaverse collaboration hub where its employees, communities and clients will connect, engage and explore growth opportunities across Web3 industries and sectors. 

The KPMG arms in Canada and the U.S. are collectively investing US$ 30 million this year in Web3 experiences, with the metaverse hub as the ‘signature piece’. 

The collaboration hub will be focused on education, collaboration, training, events, and workshops, according to a report by Fortune. It also represents the next step in both firm’s journeys to guide their employees and clients into Web3.  

The long-term goals the firm has is to explore potential Metaverse use cases relating to health care, consumer, retail, media and financial services. The firm will continue to co-create new tools and solutions that offer vital information, immersive learning and development platforms, and hire talent to help navigate the changing physical-digital confluence as part of its Metaverse strategies. 

‘Launching a collaborative space in the metaverse is a natural evolution in our journey as an innovation-driven firm,’ said CEO and senior partner at KPMG Canada, Elio Luongo. ‘The world has changed drastically over the last few years, and our people and clients are interested in exploring new ways of working. This offers them a new immersive space to exchange ideas.’

Speaking on the rationale behind the launch of the hub, the leader of KPMG U.S. Enterprise Innovation, Cliff Justice, explained, ‘The metaverse and Web 3.0 represent the next generation of the internet and will reshape the way businesses and consumers engage, transact, socialize and work. Business leaders are looking to move quickly past exploratory phases and deploy solutions to train employees, engage customers and extend their brand in this new market.’

‘The metaverse is a $13 trillion market opportunity that could boast as many as five billion users by 2030. Our first immersive metaversal experience will take our people, clients and communities beyond the traditional two-dimensional virtual environment and offer new levels of social connection, mobility and collaboration. Think of it as a world without borders that has the potential to enhance our lives by providing new opportunities to work, learn and play,’ Armughan Ahmad, president & managing partner of Digital at KPMG in Canada added.

The launch comes after the firm’s previous crypto and Web3 ventures. Back in March this year, KPMG Canada added Ethereum and Bitcoin to its corporate treasury and bought  a World of Women NFT. Meanwhile the U.S. KPMG arm has integrated NFT and crypto training into onboarding for new employees.