SEB, the Swedish financial group, has partnered with core banking firm Thought Machine in a project which will see the former deploy a new banking platform in its innovation studio, SEBx, reports Alex Hamilton of Fintech Futures (Finovate’s sister publication).

SEBx is implementing Vault, Thought Machine’s flagship cloud-hosted core banking system.

According to Nicholas Moch, group CIO of SEB, the innovation studio has a “clear mandate for exploring tech to create next generation customer offerings.”

“Having the opportunity to build a bank from the ground up within SEBx, we are determined to work with partners that bring new perspectives to a traditional industry, and the team at Thought Machine does that,” Moch said.

SEB launched its innovation studio in July, and describes it as an initiative for testing new technologies, alternative technology platforms and new services. The studio currently employs 16 people.

The bank’s CEO, Johan Torgeby, told Swedish media at the time that SEBx could become a separate company in the future.

Paul Taylor, CEO and founder of Thought Machine, said of the project: “SEB is one of the most innovative banks in Europe, and it is significant that they have decided to deploy Vault as part of their technology exploration.”

SEB’s activities mainly comprise retail and corporate banking, but it also dabbles in life insurance and pensions. Founded in 1972, it operates subsidiaries in Denmark, Estonia, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Ukraine and Russia.

Thought Machine demonstrated its core banking solution, Vault, at FinovateEurope 2018. Founded in 2014 and headquartered in London, U.K., the company has raised $22 million (£18 million) in funding from investors including Lloyds Banking Group, Backed VC, and IQ Capital.