Inside KPMG’s Orlando Lakehouse: the $450 million Covid boondoggle that’s becoming a secret weapon for the AI revolution

In January 2020, KPMG executives gathered in Orlando for a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Lakehouse, a sprawling, state-of-the-art learning and innovation center designed to be the firm’s cultural home. Just two months later, the world shuttered under the weight of a global pandemic.

While the timing appeared catastrophic—and many partners grumbled about how it was surely coming out of their compensation—the $450 million investment transformed into what leadership now describes as a...