UK fintech startup Thought Machine raises another $42 million, closes Series B round at $125 million

Banking technology company Thought Machine has secured an additional $42 million in funding for the series B round of funding it announced last March, which is due to close at a total of $125 million in early August.

Eurazeo Growth is leading the extension, with British Patient Capital and Thought Machine customer SEB also coming in as new investors. The initial Series B round was led by Draper Esprit and joined by Lloyds Banking Group, IQ Capital, Backed and Playfair Capital.

Founded in 2014 by former Google engineer Paul Taylor, the London-based company is betting on growth in the APAC region, which it aims to 'transform the retail banking market with cloud native technology, solving bank reliance on legacy IT' with a big office in Singapore.

The startup has built a product called Vault, a cloud-native core system specifically designed for banks constrained by legacy tech. The company is also working on an 'advanced payments solution', it said.

Thought Machine’s Managing Director for APAC, Nick Wilde, commented:

"The emergence of digital and neo banks is changing the APAC banking industry rapidly. This creates an urgent need for traditional banks to adopt solutions that provide innovation, agility and scalability. We help banks across APAC to move away from outdated legacy platforms, and the associated complexities and costs. With Vault, incumbent banks can implement core banking on their own terms and configure retail banking products easily and quickly, leveraging cloud native technologies."

Over the last months, the company has scaled up international hiring, adding 100 employees in the first two quarters of 2020 across three regions.

Says Taylor: "The prospect of transitioning to cloud native technology is now at the forefront of every major bank’s roadmap. Plans have been hastened in the wake of regulatory pressure, economic uncertainty and the need to manage cost-income ratios. Our flagship core banking product, Vault, brings the best in agility, resilience and security and is being used by major banks and fintech companies around the world."

The company promises to reveal some interesting customer names in the coming months.