CBA opens a 'tech hub' in Seattle

CBA has opened a ‘tech hub’ in Seattle this month that will act as a “strategic gateway” to collaborate with technology vendors, at a time when enterprise AI use cases are evolving.

The bank said the “first cohort” of technologists based at the hub are working on “agentic AI and generative AI-powered solutions to help small business banking customers manage their finances and run their businesses.”

Personnel in the bank’s tech teams can participate in a “three-week exchange” at the hub.

Group CTO Rodrigo Castillo wrote in a LinkedIn post that "three CBA squads" are on the first "three-week rotation."

“The current cohort will also explore modernising testing to respond to customer feedback faster,” CBA said in a statement.

Seattle places the bank nearby the headquarters of companies such as AWS and Microsoft.

It is also a short flight from the San Francisco Bay Area where other partners such as Anthropic and H2O.ai are based.

Group executive of technology Gavin Munroe said in a statement that visiting tech staff to the hub could “bring new ideas” back to the bank’s operations in Australia.

“A tech hub based in Seattle - an area that is home to leading global technology companies - will connect our technologists with our partners to accelerate how we deliver new banking solutions for customers,” Munroe said.

“Our teams will bring new ideas back to Australia to enhance how we work, while boosting the knowledge and expertise in Australia’s tech ecosystem.”

CBA has previously set up tech hubs across the Australian capital cities to enable the bank to tap into tech talent nationwide.