Thought Machine

Thought Machine is a British banking technology company founded in London in 2014 by Paul Taylor. It develops cloud-native software for banks and other financial institutions, with its principal offerings centered on Vault Core and Vault Payments. Rather than operating as a bank or consumer financial-services brand, Thought Machine supplies the underlying technology used to create, administer, and process banking products. The company’s central proposition is to replace or modernize legacy core-banking infrastructure with software designed for cloud deployment. Vault Core enables financial institutions to create and manage financial products through configurable smart-contract-based logic and real-time data access. Vault Payments is intended to support the processing of different types of domestic and international payments. Together, these products are positioned as infrastructure for banks seeking greater flexibility in product design, faster technology delivery, and a reduced dependence on older, highly customized banking platforms. Thought Machine began building commercial momentum through institutional partnerships and venture financing. In 2018, Lloyds Banking Group formed a partnership with the company and participated in its Series A round. The company expanded into Asia-Pacific by opening an office in Singapore in 2019. That year, Nordic financial group SEB launched UNQUO, a bank designed for entrepreneurs, using Thought Machine’s Vault Core technology. In 2020, Thought Machine joined the Banking Industry Architecture Network, a nonprofit organization focused on common banking-technology frameworks. It also raised a $125 million Series B round involving Molten Ventures, Eurazeo, the British Business Bank, SEB, and existing investors. Andy Maguire, formerly HSBC Group chief operating officer, joined as chair in the same year. The company’s expansion accelerated in 2021. Thought Machine completed a $200 million Series C financing round, reportedly reaching a valuation of $1 billion. It subsequently added JPMorgan Chase and ING Poland as clients; JPMorgan planned to use Thought Machine technology in its retail banking operations. In 2022, the company announced additional customer relationships involving Kiwibank of New Zealand and Intesa Sanpaolo, described in the reference material as Italy’s largest bank. Thought Machine also raised a $160 million Series D round from Temasek, Intesa Sanpaolo, and Morgan Stanley, with the financing reportedly increasing its valuation to $2.7 billion. HD Bank in Vietnam selected the company’s technology to upgrade its core banking system during the same period. By 2023, Thought Machine had announced relationships with C6 Bank and the fintech platform HMBradley. Its named banking customers and partners have included Lloyds Banking Group, JPMorgan Chase, Standard Chartered Bank, Intesa Sanpaolo, SEB, M1, Arvest Bank, Kiwibank, ING Poland, C6 Bank, and HD Bank. The company operates offices in London, New York, Singapore, Sydney, and Melbourne. Its brand is therefore associated primarily with enterprise banking infrastructure, digital-bank enablement, and the modernization of core financial systems rather than with retail banking services delivered directly to consumers.

Thought Machine was established in London in 2014 by Paul Taylor as a banking technology company. Its business model has focused on supplying software to financial institutions rather than providing banking services directly. The company developed Vault Core, a cloud-native core banking platform designed to let banks configure and operate financial products through smart-contract-based logic and access data in real time. It later expanded its product portfolio with Vault Payments, a platform for processing multiple categories of global payments. A significant early commercial milestone came in 2018, when Lloyds Banking Group partnered with Thought Machine and participated in a $25 million Series A funding round. This relationship connected the young software company with one of the United Kingdom’s major banking groups and helped establish its position in the market for bank-modernization technology. In 2019, Thought Machine opened an office in Singapore to support expansion across the Asia-Pacific region. SEB also launched UNQUO, a bank intended for entrepreneurs, using Vault Core technology. In 2020, Thought Machine joined the Banking Industry Architecture Network, a nonprofit organization that promotes shared architectural principles and frameworks for banking technology. The company also raised $125 million in Series B financing from Molten Ventures, Eurazeo, the British Business Bank, SEB, and existing investors. Andy Maguire, previously HSBC Group’s chief operating officer, joined the company as chair during the same year. The company’s growth continued in 2021 with a $200 million Series C financing round. The round was associated with a reported valuation of $1 billion. Thought Machine then added JPMorgan Chase and ING Poland to its client base. JPMorgan planned to use the company’s technology for its retail banking business, giving Thought Machine a high-profile reference customer in a major international banking group. In 2022, Thought Machine announced additional relationships with Kiwibank in New Zealand and Intesa Sanpaolo in Italy. HD Bank in Vietnam selected its technology for a core banking upgrade. Thought Machine also completed a $160 million Series D financing round involving Temasek, Intesa Sanpaolo, and Morgan Stanley. The financing was reported to have doubled the company’s valuation to $2.7 billion. These developments reflected the company’s strategy of expanding beyond the United Kingdom into Asia-Pacific, Europe, and other international banking markets. In 2023, the company announced relationships with C6 Bank and HMBradley. Its reported customer and partner base has included Lloyds Banking Group, JPMorgan Chase, Standard Chartered Bank, SEB, Intesa Sanpaolo, ING Poland, Kiwibank, M1, Arvest Bank, HD Bank, C6 Bank, and HMBradley. Thought Machine maintains offices in London, New York, Singapore, Sydney, and Melbourne. The company’s continuing role is that of an enterprise software provider for banks seeking to launch digital products, replace legacy core systems, and operate banking and payments infrastructure through cloud-based technology.

1. 2023C6 Bank and HMBradley relationships announced

   The company announced relationships with C6 Bank and HMBradley.

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2. 2022Series D and international banking expansion

   Thought Machine announced new banking relationships, including Kiwibank and Intesa Sanpaolo, and raised $160 million in Series D financing.

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3. 2021Series C raises valuation to reported billion-dollar level

   The company closed a $200 million Series C round and was reported to have reached a $1 billion valuation.

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4. 2020Series B financing and BIAN membership

   Thought Machine joined BIAN and raised $125 million in Series B financing.

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5. 2019Singapore office opens

   Thought Machine launched its Asia-Pacific office in Singapore.

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6. 2019UNQUO launches on Vault Core

   SEB launched UNQUO, a bank designed for entrepreneurs, using Thought Machine’s Vault Core.

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7. 2018Lloyds Banking Group partnership and Series A

   Lloyds Banking Group partnered with Thought Machine and participated in its $25 million Series A financing round.

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8. 2014Thought Machine is founded in London

   Paul Taylor founded Thought Machine as a banking technology company focused on software for financial institutions.

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Enterprise banking infrastructure provider focused on cloud-native core banking, configurable financial products, real-time data, and global payments processing.

• Vault CoreCloud-native core banking platform

  Vault Core is Thought Machine’s core banking platform for financial institutions. It is designed to run in cloud environments and supports the creation and management of banking products through configurable smart-contract-based logic. The platform provides real-time access to banking data and is intended to help banks launch or modify products without relying entirely on traditional, heavily customized core systems. It has been used in banking launches and modernization programs, including SEB’s UNQUO initiative and projects involving major international banks.

• Vault PaymentsPayments processing platform

  Vault Payments is Thought Machine’s payments technology platform. It is intended to support the processing of different types of global payments and complements Vault Core within the company’s banking infrastructure portfolio. The product is aimed at financial institutions that need payment-processing capabilities integrated with modern core banking architecture. The available reference material does not specify a separate launch date, pricing model, or detailed payment-method coverage.

• 2022Core banking modernization for HD BankGeneration change

  Vietnamese banking and financial-services provider HD Bank sought to upgrade its core banking system.

  What changed. HD Bank selected Thought Machine’s technology for the modernization program.

  Aftermath. The selection extended Thought Machine’s banking-technology footprint into Vietnam.

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• 2021Expansion into major-bank retail banking infrastructureStrategy

  Thought Machine added JPMorgan Chase and ING Poland as clients during a period of rapid international growth.

  What changed. JPMorgan planned to use Thought Machine’s technology for its retail banking operations.

  Aftermath. The relationship broadened the company’s profile from digital-bank enablement to technology deployment by a major global banking group.

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• 2019Enablement of SEB’s UNQUO bank on Vault CoreProduct launch

  SEB created UNQUO as a bank focused on entrepreneurs and selected Thought Machine’s Vault Core technology.

  What changed. Thought Machine provided the core banking platform used to support the launch.

  Aftermath. The launch served as an early public example of Vault Core being used in a new banking proposition.

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• 2023Thought Machine announces relationships with C6 Bank and HMBradley

  Thought Machine announced partnerships or customer relationships with C6 Bank and fintech platform HMBradley.

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• 2022Thought Machine announces Kiwibank and Intesa Sanpaolo relationships

  The company announced banking relationships involving Kiwibank in New Zealand and Intesa Sanpaolo in Italy.

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• 2022Thought Machine raises $160 million in Series D financing

  Temasek, Intesa Sanpaolo, and Morgan Stanley invested in Thought Machine’s Series D round, which was reported to have increased the company’s valuation to $2.7 billion.

  Other
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• 2022HD Bank selects Thought Machine for core banking modernization

  Vietnamese banking and financial-services provider HD Bank selected Thought Machine’s technology to upgrade its core banking system.

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• 2021Thought Machine completes $200 million Series C round

  Thought Machine closed a $200 million Series C financing round and was reported to have reached a valuation of $1 billion.

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• 2021JPMorgan Chase and ING Poland become Thought Machine clients

  JPMorgan Chase and ING Poland became customers, with JPMorgan planning to use Thought Machine technology for its retail banking operations.

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• 2020Thought Machine joins the Banking Industry Architecture Network

  Thought Machine became a member of BIAN, a nonprofit network that develops common frameworks for banking technology.

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• 2020Thought Machine raises $125 million in Series B financing

  The company raised a Series B round backed by Molten Ventures, Eurazeo, the British Business Bank, SEB, and existing investors.

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• 2020Andy Maguire joins Thought Machine as chair

  Andy Maguire, formerly HSBC Group’s chief operating officer, joined Thought Machine as chair.

  Leadership change
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• 2019Thought Machine opens its Asia-Pacific office in Singapore

  The company expanded its international operations by establishing an Asia-Pacific office in Singapore.

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• 2019SEB launches UNQUO using Vault Core

  Nordic financial group SEB launched UNQUO, a bank aimed at entrepreneurs, using Thought Machine’s Vault Core technology.

  Product launchOther
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• 2018Lloyds Banking Group partners with Thought Machine and joins Series A financing

  Lloyds Banking Group formed a partnership with Thought Machine and participated in the company’s $25 million Series A financing round.

  M&AOther
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1. Thought Machine
2. Thought Machine official website