LONDON, May 18, 2022 – Thought Machine, the cloud native banking technology company, today announces it has closed its series D funding round, led by Temasek, the global investment company headquartered in Singapore, with participation from Intesa Sanpaolo and Morgan Stanley. Existing investors following-on in this round include: Eurazeo, ING, JPMorgan Chase, Lloyds Banking Group, and SEB.
Thought Machine is now valued at $2.7bn – a 100% increase from the company’s valuation at the close of its series C round. This funding round closely follows Thought Machine’s series C round, which completed at the end of 2021, demonstrating the company’s accelerated growth trajectory and continued interest from global investors.
Thought Machine will use proceeds from the funding to continue investing in its cloud native technology – expanding the capabilities of its core banking platform and innovating in new product lines. Funds will drive the company’s global expansion plans – targeting markets where there is increasing demand for cloud-native technology, including France. In November 2021, the French government announced a €1.8 billion (£1.53bn) investment into the nation’s cloud computing sector to ensure businesses can continue to innovate and compete – demonstrating the huge potential for Thought Machine’s core banking technology.
Thought Machine’s core banking platform Vault Core is developed natively for the cloud – uniquely positioned to support large-scale banks undertaking core transformation, as well as smaller banks and fintechs launching new propositions to the market. No other core banking vendor has signed as many Tier 1 banks as clients such as Intesa Sanpaolo, Lloyds Banking Group, ING, SEB, and Standard Chartered, among others around the world.
Lloyds Banking Group, an early investor in Thought Machine and a participant in this round, has extended its licence agreement with the business until 2029. This extension is part of Lloyds Banking Group’s continuing technology modernisation programme.
Thought Machine continues to strengthen its executive team with the appointments of former Bank of America and Finastra finance leader Arnaud Attamian as Chief Financial Officer, and former SAP and Box sales leader Dana Barisano as Chief Revenue Officer.
Carlo Messina, managing director and CEO, Intesa Sanpaolo, said: “We are investing c.£40m into Thought Machine, a fintech innovator and partner we consider strategic to the industrial upgrade of Intesa Sanpaolo. Their cloud-based technology is fundamental to our transformation from incumbent to digital challenger, improving our core banking technology and providing the foundation for our new digital bank, Isybank.”
Paul Taylor, founder and CEO of Thought Machine, said: “This new round of funding bringing Temasek, Morgan Stanley, and Intesa Sanpaolo into the business is our statement of intent: we intend to become the leader in core banking technology, and are being deployed by the biggest, most successful banks around the world. We will use this new capital to accelerate our expansion plans, serve more clients around the world, and continuously refine the capabilities of our core banking platform and other products.”
About Thought Machine
Thought Machine has developed the foundational layer of modern banking. Its cloud native core banking engine, Vault Core, is trusted and used by leading banks and financial institutions around the world – including Intesa Sanpaolo, Lloyds Banking Group, Standard Chartered, ING, Atom bank, Curve and more.
Vault Core has been written from scratch as an entirely cloud native platform and gives banks full control to build any product required to flourish in a rapidly changing world.
Thought Machine is currently a team of more than 500 people spread across offices in London, New York, Singapore, Sydney, and Melbourne, and has raised more than $500m in funding.
For more information visit thoughtmachine.net
About Temasek
Temasek is a global investment company with a net portfolio value of S$381 billion (US$283b) as at 31 March 2021. Headquartered in Singapore, it has 13 offices in 9 countries around the world.
The Temasek Charter defines Temasek’s three roles as an Investor, Institution and Steward, which shape its ethos to do well, do right, and do good. As a provider of catalytic capital, it seeks to enable solutions to key global challenges.
With sustainability at the core of all Temasek does, it actively seeks sustainable solutions to address present and future challenges, as it captures investible opportunities to bring about a sustainable future for all.
For more information on Temasek, please visit www.temasek.com.sg.
About Morgan Stanley
Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) is a leading global financial services firm providing investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services. With offices in more than 41 countries, the Firm’s employees serve clients worldwide including corporations, governments, institutions, and individuals. For more information about Morgan Stanley, please visit www.morganstanley.com.
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