The objective is to accelerate the adoption of AI and data-driven decision-making at the bank, taking advantage of Profinit’s expert experience.
The partnership will include the RB AI Data Lab, piloting new concepts and interconnecting business with science and research.
The partnership also plans to take on the productization of the models it produces, so-called MLOPS.
Raiffeisenbank’s IT department and Profinit have announced strategic cooperation in the field of AI. For the bank, this is an opportunity to enrich the knowledge and experience of its experts with the many years of experience of the Profinit team.
“This strategic cooperation is the logical culmination of successful joint projects over the past few years, on which we have already worked together. Projects such as the first introduction of the Hadoop big data platform or data-driven targeting of campaigns have shown us that cooperation with an experienced partner helps us accelerate the use of data for our business,” says Vladimír Matouš, CIO Raiffeisenbank.
“I highly value Raiffeisenbank’s trust in our data team, and I believe that together we will be able to meaningfully apply AI in many areas of the bank’s operations. For example, using large language models such as ChatGPT to optimize processes, enabling even better client service. Or also the use of advanced algorithms for a more targeted offer of services and products to clients. But beyond just advanced algorithms, we want to emphasize the subsequent long-term operation of the solutions created,” explains Bohumír Zoubek, Services & Products Director at Profinit.
The strategic cooperation also includes the RB AI Data Lab, which is set up for university students interested in artificial intelligence (AI), data science and machine learning, and where they get the opportunity to work on real cases of applying these tools in practice. The AI Data Lab allows students to work on, for example, diploma theses and gain first-hand experience in using of AI in practice and agile project management, which will then open new opportunities for them on the labour market. This connection between academia and business is an important step towards strengthening the research and application of artificial intelligence in the Czech Republic.
“The AI Data Lab is much more than just a lab – it’s an intersection where academic research meets the real world. It not only brings new opportunities for students, but also sets a new standard for what cooperation between universities and industry should look like. The projects that students work on in the AI Data Lab are real problems that the banking and technology sectors deal with every day. Work on these projects is therefore not only useful for the students’ personal development, but also for the future direction of the entire industry,” says Lukáš Mazánek, CDO Raiffeisenbank.
About Raiffeisenbank
Raiffeisenbank has been operating on the Czech banking market since 1993 and is one of the largest banks on the domestic market. It is a Czech bank with an Austrian owner. It is headquartered in the Czech Republic, follows the business rules set by the Czech National Bank and it is one of the five most important so-called “systemically important banks”, which are subject to the highest requirements for financial strength and stability by the Czech National Bank. Raiffeisenbank conducts its business in the Czech Republic and, where applicable, in the EU.
About Profinit
Profinit, based in Prague, has been a leading provider of services in custom software development, data management, business intelligence, data science and artificial intelligence since 1998. With delivery centres in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, it currently provides services to clients throughout Central and Western Europe, primarily in the banking and finance, insurance, fintech, pharmaceutical, telco and utility sectors. Profinit cooperates with companies from Great Britain, Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic, Belgium, the Netherlands and Denmark. The company employs more than 600 IT developers and in 2022 had an annual turnover of 36 million euros.