Paul Taylor founded Thought Machine in London in 2014 to replace the core systems that hold every account, balance and loan inside a bank.
In 2018 the company raised a $25M Series A with Lloyds Banking Group taking part. Lloyds also became its flagship customer. In 2019 it opened an office in Singapore.
A $125M Series B followed in 2020, then $200M at a $1B valuation in 2021 and a $160M Series D at $2.7B in 2022 with Temasek, Intesa Sanpaolo and Morgan Stanley. Andy Maguire, former HSBC chief operating officer, became chair in 2020.
ING Poland and JPMorgan joined as clients in 2021, and C6 Bank and HMBradley in 2023. In 2025 the company reported revenue of over $100M.