Thought Machine
Thought Machine is a UK-based fintech that builds cloud-native core banking (Vault Core) and payments (Vault Payments) platforms for banks globally, serving 100+ financial institutions including Tier 1 multinationals and challenger banks.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2014
- HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
- Headcount501–1,000
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Thought Machine does
Thought Machine is a UK-based fintech, founded in 2014 by former Google engineer Paul Taylor, that builds cloud-native core banking and payments software for financial institutions globally. The company operates two core products — Vault Core (a cloud-native core banking platform configured via smart contracts with a library of 200+ preconfigured products covering current accounts, savings, credit cards, loans, and mortgages) and Vault Payments (a payment-type-agnostic orchestration engine supporting card issuing on Mastercard, ACH, FedWire, FedNow, SEPA instant, and ISO 20022 messaging). Both products are built from scratch without legacy or pre-cloud code, run on a microservices architecture with Kubernetes, Istio, and API-first design, and are deployed cloud-agnostically across AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform or as SaaS.
The company monetises primarily through enterprise annual subscription licences for Vault Core and Vault Payments, supplemented by implementation and managed services delivered through strategic SI partners (DXC Technology, HCLTech, Accenture, GFT, Unisys) and listed on AWS Marketplace. Its go-to-motion is direct enterprise field sales targeting Tier 1 multinational banks, regional banks, challenger banks, neobanks, and BaaS providers — including JPMorgan Chase, Lloyds Banking Group, Standard Chartered, ING, SEB, Intesa Sanpaolo, Atom bank, Monese, Zopa Bank, Arvest Bank, Judo Bank, and SEB Embedded, among more than 100 institutions globally. Pricing is quote-based and varies by institution size, deployment model, and modules selected.
Financially, Thought Machine reported £48 million in revenue for 2023 (up from £42 million in 2022) with pre-tax losses of £63 million that widened to £69.3 million in 2024 despite stable revenues. The company has raised over £500 million across multiple rounds — including a $200 million Series C led by Nyca Partners in 2021 (over $1 billion valuation) and a $160 million Series D led by Temasek in 2022 ($2.7 billion valuation) — supplemented by a £45 million round from existing investors in July 2024 and a further ~$61.9 million in July 2025. Thought Machine is headquartered in London with offices in New York, Singapore, Sydney, Miami, and expansion locations in India, Japan, and South Africa, and holds ISO 27001 and ISO 22301 certifications. In 2025 it was named a Leader in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Retail Core Banking Systems.
Thought Machine firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Thought Machine
- Legal name
- Thought Machine Group Limited
- Website
- https://thoughtmachine.net
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2014
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 501–1,000 employees
- Short description
- Thought Machine is a UK-based fintech that builds cloud-native core banking (Vault Core) and payments (Vault Payments) platforms for banks globally, serving 100+ financial institutions including Tier 1 multinationals and challenger banks.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Thought Machine industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Core Banking Software
- NAICS
- Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (518210)
- SIC
- Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Core Banking & Ledger Systems (Cloud Core, Deposits, Accounts) (FSAGAAAC)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Neobank Core Platform (Retail/SME Digital Bank) (FSAGAAAA), Payouts, Disbursements & Mass Payments Infrastructure (FSAGABAN)
Keywords
Where Thought Machine is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- London
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices8 records
Markets served
Thought Machine business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Software Licensing (Vault Core): Thought Machine licenses its cloud-native core banking platform Vault Core to financial institutions. Banks deploy Vault Core on their choice of cloud infrastructure (cloud-agnostic) or use it as SaaS. Revenue is generated through licensing agreements with major banks globally.
- Software Licensing (Vault Payments): Cloud-native payments processing platform licensed to banks for card issuing, payment processing, ACH, FedWire, FedNow, SEPA, and other payment rails.
- Implementation and Managed Services: Through partnerships with DXC Technology and HCLTech, Thought Machine provides full-stack transformation services with Vault-certified delivery teams and managed services for banks migrating from legacy systems.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Enterprise Licensing - Vault Core |
| Subscription | Annual | Enterprise Licensing - Vault Payments |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels7 records
Thought Machine product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Thought Machine builds and licenses Vault Core, a cloud-native core banking platform, and Vault Payments, a cloud-native payments processing platform. Both are built from scratch without legacy code, run on any cloud infrastructure, and are configured via smart contracts. Banks use the platforms to run current accounts, savings, cards, loans, mortgages, and all payment types across every scheme and region.
Product overview
Thought Machine offers two core products — Vault Core (cloud-native core banking platform) and Vault Payments (cloud-native payments processing platform) — that together form the Vault platform. Both are built from scratch without any legacy or pre-cloud code, running natively in the cloud with microservices architecture and API-first design. Vault Core handles core banking functions including accounts, loans, credit, and mortgages, configured via smart contracts and a Product Library of over 200 preconfigured products. Vault Payments handles all payment types, schemes, and regions globally, using a universal orchestration engine with ISO 20022 support. Banks can deploy both products on any cloud infrastructure provider or use them as SaaS.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Vault Core Cloud-native core banking platform built from scratch to run in the cloud. Cloud-agnostic, enabling banks to deploy on any hosting provider or use as SaaS. Banks can run any financial product (current accounts, savings, credit cards, loans, mortgages), replicate existing back books, or create entirely new products. All product creation is done through a configuration layer using smart contracts, supported by a Product Library of 200+ preconfigured products. Designed for Tier 1 banks, challenger banks, regional banks, BaaS providers, and digital lenders.
- Vault Payments Cloud-native payments processing platform enabling banks to run all payment types for every method, scheme, and region. Features thin connectivity components and a universal configurable orchestration engine built on ISO 20022 standards. Seamlessly embeds new and existing financial products into the payment platform with complete control over the payment lifecycle. Supports ACH, FedWire, Cards, FedNow, SEPA instant payments, and Mastercard card issuing and processing. Designed for banks requiring real-time payment processing at sub-100ms latency.
Quantifiable outcome
- Banks can launch products 5-10x faster compared to traditional core banking systems
- +5 more outcomes
Companies that use Thought Machine
Customer profileNamed customers24 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Thought Machine technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration3 records
Feature6 records
Thought Machine partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered major, core and minor.
- Form3majorPartnership to bring real-time payment technology to US and European markets, integrating Form3's payment infrastructure with Thought Machine's Vault platform.
- MicrosoftmajorJoint solution Vault Core Connector for FSI Cloud integrates Vault Core banking system with Microsoft Cloud for Financial Services. Uses Azure Event hubs and Logic Apps to create Unified Customer Profile application with 360-degree view across business lines.
- HCLTechcoreGlobal partnership announced August 2025 to help banks modernize by transitioning from legacy systems to AI and cloud-powered platforms using Vault Core. HCLTech provides full-stack transformation services through Vault-certified delivery teams and established Centers of Excellence for Vault Core and Vault Payments.
- DXC TechnologycoreJoint solution launched June 2025 to help small and midsize banks modernize core banking and payments infrastructure. DXC provides managed services expertise combined with Vault Core and Vault Payments platforms, enabling banks to launch products in hours rather than weeks.
- MastercardcorePartnership to offer digital core banking and payments modernization solutions combining Mastercard's payment infrastructure with Thought Machine's cloud-native core banking engine.
- AccenturemajorStrategic partnership for core modernization and ecosystem collaboration. Accenture provides consulting and implementation services for Vault platform deployments.
- GFTmajorStrategic partnership to accelerate global banking transformation programmes using Thought Machine's Vault platform.
- UnisysmajorPartnership to advance branch banking technology with cutting-edge features, combining Unisys's branch solutions with Thought Machine's core banking platform.
- UST FinXminorPartnership to democratize access to enterprise-grade banking technology for financial institutions of all sizes.
- VirtusaminorVirtusa launched SME Customer Onboarding platform on Thought Machine technology, reducing account opening time from approximately 100 days to a few minutes.
- Google Cloud PlatformmajorThought Machine is cloud-agnostic but Vault Core deployed on Google Cloud Platform for clients like Atom bank. GCP mentioned for multi-cloud flexibility.
- AWSmajorThought Machine Vault Core available on AWS Marketplace. Cloud-agnostic deployment option.
Scale indicators13 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Thought Machine competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Mambu: Berlin-based cloud-native core banking platform serving challenger banks, neobanks, and traditional banks. Competes head-to-head with Thought Machine in the cloud-native core banking modernization space with a composable SaaS architecture.
- 10x Banking: UK-based cloud-native core banking platform targeting Tier 1 banks with a microservices architecture similar to Thought Machine's Vault. Direct competitor in enterprise core banking modernization deals.
- nCino: Cloud-native banking platform initially focused on commercial lending but expanding into broader core and account opening workflows. Competes with Thought Machine in modernizing banking processes and was acquired by Salesforce-adjacent ecosystem investors.
Broad incumbents
- Temenos: Swiss-listed incumbent core banking software provider with the largest global installed base. Competes against Thought Machine in large bank modernization RFPs with a wider portfolio spanning retail, corporate, and wealth.
- Oracle Financial Services Software: Incumbent core banking, analytics, and compliance provider serving large global banks. Increasingly investing in cloud-native offerings and competes in modernization deals where banks are weighing Oracle's scale against pure-play cloud-native vendors.
- Fiserv: US-listed fintech incumbent with core banking (Precision), payments, and merchant solutions. Competes in mid-market and large bank modernization and is increasingly investing in cloud-native capabilities.
- FIS (Fidelity National Information Services): Major US-listed financial technology incumbent offering core banking, payments, and capital markets infrastructure. Competes with Thought Machine at large banks via its Modern Banking Platform and other legacy-to-cloud migration offerings.
Emerging players
- Backbase: Amsterdam-based digital banking platform provider with an 'Engagement Banking' focus, complementary to but overlapping with Vault Core. Often paired with core systems rather than replacing them, but increasingly competing for full-stack deals.
Regional players
- Q2 Holdings: US-focused digital banking platform for community and regional banks, recently acquired by Stellex Capital. Less directly competitive with Thought Machine's Tier 1 focus but overlaps in mid-market US regional bank digital banking deals.
Others
- Form3: UK-based cloud-native payment technology provider partnered with Thought Machine for real-time payments in US and Europe. An ecosystem ally and infrastructure provider rather than direct competitor, with overlapping customer base among European banks.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Thought Machine social profiles
Digital presenceThought Machine compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance2 records
Thought Machine financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Thought Machine leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles12 records
Thought Machine subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries2 records
Thought Machine funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds9 records
Investors17 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Thought Machine M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Thought Machine
What does Thought Machine do?
Thought Machine builds and licenses Vault Core, a cloud-native core banking platform, and Vault Payments, a cloud-native payments processing platform. Both are built from scratch without legacy code, run on any cloud infrastructure, and are configured via smart contracts. Banks use the platforms to run current accounts, savings, cards, loans, mortgages, and all payment types across every scheme and region.
Is Thought Machine a public or private company?
Thought Machine is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Thought Machine founded?
Thought Machine was founded in 2014. It employs 501 to 1,000 people.
Where is Thought Machine based?
Thought Machine is headquartered in London, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Thought Machine make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Software Licensing (Vault Core) is the primary driver. The others are software Licensing (Vault Payments) and implementation and Managed Services.
Who are Thought Machine's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Mambu, 10x Banking and nCino. Broad incumbents are Temenos, Oracle Financial Services Software, Fiserv and FIS (Fidelity National Information Services). Backbase is listed as an emerging player. Q2 Holdings is listed as a regional player. Form3 is listed as an others.
Does Thought Machine have an API?
No public API is recorded for Thought Machine.
What industry is Thought Machine in?
Thought Machine's product category is Core Banking Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSAGAAAC, Core Banking & Ledger Systems (Cloud Core, Deposits, Accounts), with a secondary code of FSAGAAAA, Neobank Core Platform (Retail/SME Digital Bank). Its NAICS code is 518210 and its SIC code is 7372.