RBC Partners with Cohere to Develop Groundbreaking AI Platform for Financial Services

The Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) is leading innovation in the financial sector by partnering with Toronto-based artificial intelligence company Cohere Inc. to create a generative AI platform specifically designed for banking. This partnership marks a significant milestone as the first collaboration for a Canadian bank, aiming to enhance efficiency, security, and productivity across RBC’s operations.

The North for Banking platform is designed to assist employees in completing tasks more efficiently by offering solutions tailored to customer needs. By integrating generative AI capabilities, the platform enables employees to assess individual client circumstances and provide accurate, personalized advice. This initiative represents a significant step forward for AI in banking, moving from niche applications to broader, bank-wide implementation.

RBC has emphasized the importance of maintaining the highest levels of security and privacy in this endeavor. Dr. Foteini Agrafioti, RBC Borealis senior vice-president and chief science officer, highlighted the significance of this approach, stating, “We haven’t felt comfortable bringing RBC-sensitive data closer to these technologies until now. Our partnership with Cohere allows us to deploy North for Banking securely, ensuring that client data remains protected.”

This collaboration builds on RBC’s extensive use of AI in customer service, staff guidance, and research analyst productivity within its capital markets division. With North for Banking, RBC is expanding AI’s role by integrating advanced tools into employee workflows to solve problems and make decisions more effectively.

Cohere, founded in 2019, specializes in large language models (LLMs) that power generative AI platforms. The startup has rapidly gained recognition as a global competitor to AI giants like OpenAI and Google, backed by substantial funding, including $240 million from the federal government for a new data center in Canada and a US$500 million financing round in 2023. The partnership with RBC allows Cohere to customize its platform specifically for the financial industry, addressing stringent security and operational needs.

RBC is leveraging its infrastructure for the project to ensure data privacy and mitigate risks. The bank has built one of Canada’s largest GPU farms to support AI training, a critical factor for developing secure and efficient AI solutions. By bringing the platform’s infrastructure onto RBC’s premises, the bank eliminates reliance on shared cloud services, significantly reducing privacy risks while unlocking new opportunities for innovation.

Generative AI is transforming how RBC operates and setting a new precedent for the financial industry. RBC’s top ranking in AI maturity among global financial institutions reflects its commitment to technological advancement and innovation. This collaboration with Cohere positions RBC as a trailblazer in integrating AI into financial services while maintaining a steadfast focus on security, privacy, and client trust. The partnership represents a forward-thinking approach to AI, promising a more efficient and personalized banking experience.