Thought Machine
Thought Machine helps global banks modernize core banking with cloud-native technology.
Thought Machine builds Vault Core, a cloud-native core banking platform that enables banks to run any financial product they design using smart contracts and a real-time ledger architecture. Unlike legacy monolithic systems, Vault Core is cloud-agnostic, microservices-based, and allows banks to migrate existing products while innovating new ones without disruption. The company also offers Vault Payments for global payment processing. Backed by tier-1 banks including JPMorgan Chase, ING, and Lloyds Banking Group as both customers and investors, Thought Machine has become the infrastructure layer modernizing legacy banking systems.
Problem solved
Legacy core banking systems are monolithic, inflexible, and prevent banks from innovating rapidly or migrating to modern cloud infrastructure without massive operational risk.
Target customer
Tier-1 global banks and regional financial institutions seeking to migrate from legacy core banking systems and launch new digital products without disruption.
Founders
P
Paul Taylor
CEO & Co-Founder
PhD in AI; previously led Google's text-to-speech team and founded Rhetorical Systems (acquired by Nuance, 2004) and Phonetic Arts (acquired by Google, 2010).
Funding history
Seed
Unknown
2016
Led by IQ Capital
· Unknown
Series A
$25M
2018
Led by Unknown
· Lloyds Banking Group
Series B
$125M
2020
Led by Draper Esprit, Eurazeo Growth
· Lloyds Banking Group, IQ Capital, Backed, Playfair Capital, British Patient Capital, SEB
Series C
$200M
2021
Led by Nyca Partners
· ING Ventures, JPMorgan Chase, Standard Chartered Ventures
Series D
$160M
2022
Led by Temasek, Intesa Sanpaolo, Morgan Stanley
· Eurazeo, ING, JPMorgan Chase, Lloyds Banking Group, SEB
Total raised:
$706M
Pricing
Modular licensing model based on deployment scale and number of accounts managed. Specific pricing not publicly available; contact required.
Notable customers
JPMorgan Chase, Lloyds Banking Group, ING, Standard Chartered, SEB, Intesa Sanpaolo, Shawbrook, Afin, Mox
Integrations
Vault Payments (in-house payment processing platform), cloud providers (AWS, Google Cloud, Azure via cloud-agnostic architecture)
Website
Competitors
FIS CoreVue
Legacy-focused core banking solution; less cloud-native architecture and slower time-to-market for new products.
Temenos
Broader but more monolithic banking software suite; Thought Machine's microservices and smart contract approach offers greater product flexibility and cloud agility.
Finastra
Diversified fintech platform covering multiple banking domains; Thought Machine specializes deeply in core banking modernization with cloud-native infrastructure.
Why this matters: Thought Machine has achieved unicorn status ($1B valuation in 2021, $2.7B in 2022) by solving a critical pain point: modernizing legacy core banking infrastructure. Its backing by tier-1 banks as both customers and investors validates the product's strategic importance to the industry. The successful deployments (Mox's 35,000 users in 4 weeks, Shawbrook's rapid product launch) demonstrate that cloud-native core banking is viable at scale—a shift that could reshape decades-old banking technology landscapes.
Best for: Tier-1 and regional banks requiring rapid core banking modernization, product innovation capability, and cloud migration without operational disruption.
Use cases
Legacy System Migration
A global tier-1 bank migrates millions of existing customer accounts from a 30-year-old monolithic core system to Vault Core without service interruption. The real-time ledger and smart contract separation enables safe product replication, reducing migration risk compared to rip-and-replace alternatives.
Rapid New Product Launch
Shawbrook selected Vault Core and launched a buy-to-let mortgage product in May 2025, demonstrating ability to iterate new financial products quickly. Developer-friendly smart contracts allow product teams to define logic without core platform changes.
Digital Bank Launch
Afin built a digital bank on Vault Core to serve African diaspora communities in the UK. The cloud-native, modular architecture enabled fast market deployment with minimal infrastructure overhead compared to building on legacy platforms.
Alternatives
Temenos
Broader enterprise banking software suite; less specialized in cloud-native architecture and microservices-first design.
FIS
Larger diversified fintech platform; traditional core banking focus with slower cloud modernization trajectory.
Alkami
Digital banking platform for smaller institutions; lacks the core ledger infrastructure and smart contract capabilities for large-scale bank migrations.
FAQ
What does Thought Machine do? +
Thought Machine builds Vault Core, a cloud-native core banking platform that enables banks to run any financial product using smart contracts and real-time ledger technology. It also offers Vault Payments for global payment processing. Unlike legacy systems, Vault Core is cloud-agnostic, microservices-based, and allows banks to migrate existing products and launch new ones without disruption.
How much does Thought Machine cost? +
Thought Machine uses a modular licensing model based on deployment scale and number of accounts managed. Specific pricing is not publicly available; banks must contact the company for custom quotes based on their requirements.
What are alternatives to Thought Machine? +
Temenos offers a broader banking software suite but with less cloud-native specialization. FIS provides diversified fintech platforms with traditional core banking focus. Alkami serves smaller institutions with digital banking platforms but lacks core ledger infrastructure for large-scale migrations.
Who uses Thought Machine? +
Tier-1 global banks including JPMorgan Chase, Lloyds Banking Group, ING, Standard Chartered, SEB, and Intesa Sanpaolo use Thought Machine. Notable deployments include Shawbrook (buy-to-let mortgages), Afin (digital bank for African diaspora), and Mox (which reached 35,000 customers in four weeks on Vault Core).
How does Thought Machine compare to Temenos? +
Thought Machine specializes in cloud-native core banking with microservices architecture and developer-friendly smart contracts for product flexibility. Temenos is a broader banking software suite with more traditional monolithic design. Thought Machine's cloud-agnostic approach and ledger-smart contract separation enable faster migrations and product launches compared to Temenos's larger but less specialized platform.
Tags
core banking
cloud-native
microservices
smart contracts
banking modernization
financial infrastructure
digital transformation