Borrow
CBA partners with AI platform H2O.ai
Commonwealth Bank has acquired a minority stake in US-based H2O.ai.
CBA partners with AI platform H2O.ai
Commonwealth Bank has announced it has taken a minority stake and entered into an exclusive partnership with artificial intelligence platform H2O.ai.
The bank led a US$100 million ($135 million) funding round for H2O.ai that gives the Silicon Valley-based company a pre-money valuation of US$1.6 billion ($2.16 billion).
CBA said it would roll out H2O.ai’s cloud-based machine learning platform AI Cloud across the organisation, including its data scientists, data engineers and business users.
“The partnership will further differentiate and extend our artificial intelligence capability to better anticipate customer needs and reimagine products and digital experiences to meet those needs,” said CBA CEO Matt Comyn.
“This partnership will accelerate our ability to deliver a broader customer proposition through more personalised experiences, which delivers greater value for our customers.”
Mr Comyn said he saw “broad application” for AI and machine learning technology at CBA, including as part of the bank’s operational processes, fraud protection, lending decisions and risk management.
As the exclusive financial services partner for H2O.ai in Australia and New Zealand, CBA will also work with experts from the company to develop new AI solutions.
“This strategic partnership between the leading global AI Cloud movement and Australia’s largest bank will unleash the juggernaut of co-innovation in AI for payments and further democratise AI with trust and freedom,” said H2O.ai founder and CEO Sri Ambati.
“Our vision is not only to make CBA an AI superpower but make Australia an AI nation as we move to life after COVID.”
The tech investment follows CBA’s announcement last week that it will soon launch crypto trading within its banking app.
CBA chief data and analytics officer Dr Andrew McMullan said the partnership with H2O.ai would be beneficial to its retail and business customers.
“Through this partnership, we will be able to better help customers find personalised and relevant offers to save money while they shop across platforms like Little Birdie, Karta, CommBank Rewards, and Klarna, while at the same time driving sales for merchants,” said Dr McMullan.
“H2O.ai will also help us to better predict bills and forecast cash flows for both retail and business customers so they can plan ahead.”
H2O.ai said its platform is currently used by over 20,000 organisations globally, including more than half of the Fortune 500, and one million data scientists.
RELATED ARTICLES
Banking
Open banking in action: An early adopter’s playbook—and the ROI case for Australian brokers
Open banking is shifting from conference buzzword to operational backbone in Australia’s broking sector. Early adopters are using bank-grade data and AI to compress underwriting cycles, cut compliance ...Read more
Banking
Australian brokerage pedals ahead using consented data for a speedy advantage
Open banking is no longer a concept; it is an operating model shift changing how brokers originate and package credit. Australia’s early movers, backed by the Consumer Data Right (CDR) and a ...Read more
Banking
BOQ’s mortgage squeeze is a market signal: where banks will win next as competition bites
Bank of Queensland’s shrinking home-loan book is more than a single-institution story; it’s a barometer of how Australia’s mortgage market is being rewired by broker power, non-bank agility and ...Read more
Banking
RBA’s next move: Why a November cut could reset corporate risk budgets
Australia’s unemployment rate has risen to a four‑year high, sharpening the case for another Reserve Bank easing as growth moderates. With GDP expanding 0.6% in the June quarter and 1.8% year on year, ...Read more
Banking
PayPal Open Debuts in Australia: A Unified Platform for Business Growth
Sydney, 14 October 2025 – In a significant move to bolster commerce capabilities for businesses across Australia, PayPal has officially launched its new merchant platform, PayPal OpenRead more
Banking
RBA holds interest rates steady at 3.6% amid strong labour market and inflation concerns
In a widely anticipated move, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) announced that it would maintain the cash rate at 3.6%. The decision was unanimous, reflecting a cautious approach as the central bank ...Read more
Banking
Hardship is the new conduct frontier: A bank’s playbook for turning ASIC scrutiny into ROI
ASIC has put financial hardship on its 2025 enforcement radar, shifting lender performance from a customer service problem to a board-level conduct risk. This case study examines how an Australian ...Read more
Banking
RBA flags price uplift as Home Guarantee expansion accelerates: what it means for banks, builders and the bottom line
Australia’s expanded Home Guarantee Scheme (HGS) has been brought forward to 1 October, compressing a multi‑year policy shift into weeks. The RBA expects the changes to lift borrowing capacity and add ...Read more
Banking
Open banking in action: An early adopter’s playbook—and the ROI case for Australian brokers
Open banking is shifting from conference buzzword to operational backbone in Australia’s broking sector. Early adopters are using bank-grade data and AI to compress underwriting cycles, cut compliance ...Read more
Banking
Australian brokerage pedals ahead using consented data for a speedy advantage
Open banking is no longer a concept; it is an operating model shift changing how brokers originate and package credit. Australia’s early movers, backed by the Consumer Data Right (CDR) and a ...Read more
Banking
BOQ’s mortgage squeeze is a market signal: where banks will win next as competition bites
Bank of Queensland’s shrinking home-loan book is more than a single-institution story; it’s a barometer of how Australia’s mortgage market is being rewired by broker power, non-bank agility and ...Read more
Banking
RBA’s next move: Why a November cut could reset corporate risk budgets
Australia’s unemployment rate has risen to a four‑year high, sharpening the case for another Reserve Bank easing as growth moderates. With GDP expanding 0.6% in the June quarter and 1.8% year on year, ...Read more
Banking
PayPal Open Debuts in Australia: A Unified Platform for Business Growth
Sydney, 14 October 2025 – In a significant move to bolster commerce capabilities for businesses across Australia, PayPal has officially launched its new merchant platform, PayPal OpenRead more
Banking
RBA holds interest rates steady at 3.6% amid strong labour market and inflation concerns
In a widely anticipated move, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) announced that it would maintain the cash rate at 3.6%. The decision was unanimous, reflecting a cautious approach as the central bank ...Read more
Banking
Hardship is the new conduct frontier: A bank’s playbook for turning ASIC scrutiny into ROI
ASIC has put financial hardship on its 2025 enforcement radar, shifting lender performance from a customer service problem to a board-level conduct risk. This case study examines how an Australian ...Read more
Banking
RBA flags price uplift as Home Guarantee expansion accelerates: what it means for banks, builders and the bottom line
Australia’s expanded Home Guarantee Scheme (HGS) has been brought forward to 1 October, compressing a multi‑year policy shift into weeks. The RBA expects the changes to lift borrowing capacity and add ...Read more
