KPMG in India has acqui-hired artificial intelligence (AI) decision services company Recommender Labs Pvt. Ltd, a statement by the professional services firm said.
As part of the deal, KPMG said it will acquire Recommender’s trademark brand, software products and other intellectual property rights. The firm did not disclose the financial details of the deal.
KPMG said it will combine its own capabilities with those of Recommender’s to build assets and capability to respond to client requests with AI-led offerings. The company said it is also planning to build its own centre of excellence specialising in decision-science and AI-driven solutions.
As part of the acqui-hire, Recommender founder and chief executive officer Sanjaya Sharma will join KPMG as a senior adviser, with some of his roles including providing training to staff and clients and building platforms in the advanced analytics segment.
KPMG in India partner and head for risk consulting Akhilesh Tuteja said the acqui-hire would help the firm with its day-to-day needs. “AI is actively re-inventing and shifting business performances of companies, with better insights and more accurate results,” Tuteja said.
Sharma said that existing and in-development AI-based solutions and services would help KPMG “take its technology offerings to the next level”.
Founded in 2016, Recommender says it utilises its capabilities by providing recommendations to its clients for the purpose of decision-making. The company says its software frameworks are customised for each client. Some of its products include a universal recommender engine, a chatbot authoring framework that offers decision-tree-based conversations and a credit risk engine, which helps identify potential defaulters.
Affiliated with accounting and consulting network KPMG International, KPMG in India was established in 1993. The company has a network of offices across India, and offers professional services to both domestic and international clients, with a focus on performance-based and technology-enabled solutions.
