Deutsche Bank selects Thought Machine to support core system reduction

Deutsche Bank’s private bank will use Thought Machine’s cloud-based banking platform as it reduces core systems from 15 to two cloud-based platforms, after agreeing a 10-year deal.

As part of its plan to simplify its private banking landscape, the German banking giant is adopting Thought Machine’s Vault Core cloud-based banking software.

The software from the Google-inspired UK fintech unicorn is the first of two core platforms to be chosen by Deutsche Bank’s private bank, and will be its operation’s core engine for banking and lending in personal banking and wealth management.

“The platform will be used to modernise the bank’s technology foundation, allowing Deutsche Bank to replace fragmented legacy systems, reduce complexity and accelerate time-to-market for new products through a more client-centric operating model,” said a statement from the bank.

Development work has already started on the software migration, and testing is planned towards the end of this year. Deutsche Bank will then migrate in phases, with existing systems and the new platform operating in parallel throughout the transition period. The bank plans to move products across to the cloud system from 2027 onwards.

Christian Rhino, chief information officer at Deutsche Bank’s private bank, said: “Modernising our core banking landscape is one of the most significant technology transformations currently underway in the private bank.

“Vault Core provides a modern, cloud-native foundation that enhances resilience, scalability and flexibility,” he added. “By separating product logic from underlying infrastructure, we will be able to develop, adapt and deploy products more efficiently over time, while progressively reducing reliance on fragmented legacy systems.”

Thought Machine was launched in 2014 by ex-Google executives, including the internet giant’s former head of text-to-speech, Paul Taylor. It became a unicorn – worth more than $1bn – in 2001.

Read more: Thought Machine: Google-inspired banking fintech to unicorn and beyond

Taylor is heavily influenced by Google following his time at the internet giant. He was an academic at Edinburgh University in the 1990s, and focused on search technology, artificial intelligence and machine learning.

He then moved on to set up two companies. One of them, Phonetic Arts, was acquired by Google in 2010, which became the text-to-speech system behind its driving directions and voice search.

Following the announcement of the latest deal, Taylor said: “Deutsche Bank is setting a clear precedent for how major international banks can modernise their core infrastructure. Replacing disjointed legacy systems with a modern architecture gives the bank the real-time capability needed to streamline operations, strengthen system reliability and deliver superior customer experiences at scale. We are delighted to enter into this decade-long partnership.”

Deutsche Bank’s private bank chief operating officer, Yiping Li, said: “With the selection of our future core banking platform, we are now turning strategy into execution. Modernising our core banking infrastructure will help us simplify our technology landscape, reduce complexity and create a more scalable foundation for future growth.

“Ultimately, this transformation is about delivering a better experience for clients and employees while strengthening the foundations of our business for the years ahead.”

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