CBA opens tech hub in Seattle to boost AI skills

Opening a new tech hub in Seattle, Commonwealth Bank chief Matt Comyn says big business has a role to make Australia a smarter nation.

CBA's first cohort of Seattle tech hub workers.

Commonwealth Bank boss Matt Comyn has declared the bank he leads is not waiting for the federal government to make Australia a smarter nation, saying big business needs to take a greater leadership role.

Mr Comyn was speaking as CBA opened a tech hub in Seattle to leverage the expertise of Microsoft and Amazon, which are jostling for pole position in the artificial intelligence race.

He has cultivated a close relationship with Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella, who says Australia has a credible chance of becoming a global leader in AI.

But Australia needs help to realise that opportunity. That’s why Mr Comyn said CBA has opened an office in Seattle, where it plans to rotate up to 200 staff in the next 12 months, to upskill and then replicate the technical capabilities of the US west coast in Australia.

“Realistically, a lot of the frontier will be developed in the US, and particularly in the west coast. But if we can stay close to that frontier, I think that’s a good thing for Australia,” Mr Comyn told The Australian from Seattle.

“No doubt others will seek to replicate that. That’s good for Australia’s long-term competitiveness.”

The Albanese government did not mention AI in the federal government, attracting criticism that it was spending more money on pandas than tech from some entrepreneurs. But Jim Chalmers says AI will be one of the many drivers to bolster the economy in the future, with the government forecasting it will inject up to $600bn a year by 2030.

CBA's group executive technology Gavin Munroe and CEO Matt Comyn at the Seattle Tech Hub.

Mr Comyn said CBA wasn’t waiting for any changes in government policy or incentives to invest in technology. CBA has become Australia’s biggest bank with a $249.51bn market value, largely because of its superior technology to NAB, ANZ and Westpac.

While this has helped propel its market value to $249.4bn – more than double Australia’s next biggest bank, Westpac, which has a market capitalisation of $107bn – it means CBA needs to keep investing in tech to maintain its competitive advantage.

And Mr Comyn has not also developed close relationships with Mr Nadella and his senior executive but also Amazon chief executive Andy Jassy and Amazon Web Services boss Matt Garman.

“Both of those companies and a number of others, I feel like you can learn a lot from both their history and also how they lead … as well as the technology that they’re developing. So you always enjoy spending time with our partners,” Mr Comyn said.

He said the Seattle tech hub – which has CBA’s branding on its frontage – would also help grow Australia’s own AI capabilities.

“There are a number of sectors in Australia that are very focused on this, I do think it would be a worthwhile pursuit to continue to grow the capability and technology industry in Australia. I mean, that’s one of the reasons why we’re here (in Seattle).

“This is a much larger talent density in some of these areas, particularly in and around San Francisco and Seattle, but Australia obviously does really well in some areas of tech as well, and have developed some really successful companies on a global scale. So I think that’s an important strategic priority for the country.

“We committed to the partnership with both Microsoft and AWS (Amazon Web Services), and this gives us a chance to get exposed to the energy in Seattle, but also to their labs and their thought leadership and the learning for us to then bring that back to Sydney. So long term, we do have to create some energy in Sydney. We’re using this as a catalyst to get the top teams and the top use cases exposure.”

The tech hub is focused on accelerating CBA’s use of AI agents – programs that can perform a variety of tasks in the background to lift productivity – as well as its generative AI, also known as conversational AI, capabilities.

It will also explore ways to help use technology to protect more Australians from scams.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella says Australia has a credible chance of becoming a leader in AI.

But at this stage CBA is not looking at creating a “virtual human” or avatar, which Microsoft helped Commerzbank in Germany create, heralding the introduction of digital bankers.

“We have to think about a number of things. And one of the other elements that we’re very focused on we’ve got the team thinking about whilst we’re here is also, ‘how do we manage and control to make sure we deliver for great quality and reliability?’,” Mr Comyn said.

“Obviously, customers need to be comfortable and confident. We have to be equally confident about the reliability and accuracy, but also accepting that humans are inherently inaccurate as well.

“And so I think it will take some time before some of the implementation or use cases will come to market.”

CBA will also work with Anthropic and H20 to deliver “technology-led customer experiences”.

AWS vice president of Agentic AI Swami Sivasubramanian said he was “excited about the learning opportunities that their new Seattle Tech Hub will offer”.

“I’m confident this move will not only give them access to the best industry talent, but also bring our teams closer as we continue to scale AI innovations globally,” he said.

“We have entered an even more transformative phase with generative AI, and the emergence of agentic AI applications represents a fundamental shift in its evolution. I look forward to our teams collaborating closely and achieving productivity and scale gains that will reshape banking experiences for customers.”

Microsoft business and industry co-pilot corporate vice president Charles Lamanna said CBA’s Seattle Technology Hub “exemplifies its leadership in banking innovation”.

“By placing its people at the centre of the global tech ecosystem, CommBank is ensuring it stays ahead of emerging trends and technologies. Microsoft is proud to support the bank’s vision by providing tools and access to expertise that will empower its team, enhance their learning, and push the boundaries of what is possible for their 16 million customers.”

CBA shares closed flat at $150.04 on Thursday.

Originally published as CBA opens tech hub in Seattle to boost AI skills