UniCredit taps Google Cloud to power AI-led banking in 13 markets

By Puja Sharma

-The agreement will help UniCredit transform its Group-wide operations for a new era of banking at scale, gradually migrating key applications to the cloud

-Collaboration between UniCredit and Google will focus on technology modernisation, AI acceleration, and fostering new business opportunities

UniCredit, the pan-European commercial bank, and Google Cloud has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) outlining a 10-year agreement to accelerate UniCredit’s digital transformation. This collaboration will see UniCredit draw on Google Cloud’s best-in-class infrastructure, AI, and data analytics solutions to streamline its digital architecture and enhance its products and services across the bank’s 13 core markets.

For UniCredit, this partnership represents a major investment in its cloud infrastructure, delivering on one of the key pillars of the bank’s digital strategy, which involves migrating large sections of the bank’s application landscape, including legacy systems across the group, to Google Cloud’s scalable and secure platform.

This agreement will see UniCredit’s 13 banks progressively transition to Google Cloud, providing them with a unified foundation, enhanced scale, and agility crucial for its ambitious growth plans and innovation. This is further supported by Google Cloud’s inherent technological flexibility, which allows UniCredit to adapt and scale for future market expansions or acquisitions readily.

In addition, UniCredit will use Google Cloud as its new platform for AI workloads, adopting the technology firm’s advanced AI capabilities, including its Vertex AI platform and Gemini models. The bank plans to use these technologies to develop and refine new service offerings, improve internal efficiencies, and create industry-leading customer experiences, with potential applications spanning areas such as investment banking insights, enhanced customer interactions, operational process optimisation, financial crime prevention, and the development of new AI-powered financial products.

Beyond the core cloud component, the MoU establishes a comprehensive and strategic business partnership with Google Cloud, a collaboration that also lays the groundwork for UniCredit to explore services from other Google divisions. This could involve exploring offerings like Google Maps Platform to further enrich customer interactions and optimise operational processes, marking a major milestone in UniCredit’s digital transformation.

“This strategic partnership with Google Cloud is a pivotal step in our strategy to be the bank for Europe’s future,” said Andrea Orcel, CEO Unicredit. “In line with our single-partner approach for strategic collaborations, we have sought out the best and now we are all in with them in the pursuit of excellence. Google Cloud’s cutting-edge cloud, AI and data analytics capabilities, will empower our ongoing digital transformation – further enhancing our customer offerings, streamlining our operations, and fostering a new era of data-driven innovation.”

“I am delighted to see this partnership, and all the opportunities it will bring to both UniCredit and Google,” said Tara Brady, President EMEA, Google Cloud. “Google Cloud is at the forefront of bringing powerful and the most secure AI technologies to financial institutions across Europe, and with these capabilities UniCredit can speed innovation, create efficiencies and advance its digital transformation, enabling continued success within today’s dynamic market.”