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Backbase, the global leader in Engagement Banking, announces the establishment of its first global Center of Excellence (COE) focused on Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The COE will serve as the development hub for Backbase’s AI banking solutions worldwide and will be led by Head of AI Chris Shayan, a former CXO at Techcombank and HDBank.

Backbase’s strategic decision to establish this COE in Vietnam underscores its commitment to Asia. Vietnam is pegged as the fastest growing digital economy in Southeast Asia and recognized for its rapid digital transformation, innovative spirit, and growing pool of talent. Asia is a core region for Backbase and Vietnam has become one of the fastest growing markets in Asia, with key banks including Techcombank, TPBank, ABBANK, and OCB driving digital transformation through the Backbase Engagement Banking Platform.

The Center of Excellence is strategically located near Saigon Center in District 1, occupying an entire floor dedicated to advancing AI development. The COE will bring together a talented team of engineers specializing in web, mobile, backend, AI, machine learning, and large language models (LLM), fostering rapid AI development and innovation.

Chris Shayan, an industry veteran in AI and digital transformation, brings his vision and expertise to drive this initiative in Vietnam, where he has resided for more than a decade. According to Shayan, the COE’s first product launch is targeted within 6 months of its establishment, reflecting Backbase’s confidence in a rapid development cycle.

“Vietnam is a crucial part of our global strategy. Having managed an 800-person team, of which 99% were Vietnamese, I can personally attest to the remarkable potential of Vietnamese talent in technology and innovation,” Shayan stated. “At this stage, our focus for the COE is to harness this talent pool to create world-leading AI capabilities that help banks solve business problems on a global scale, leveraging the wealth of knowledge and experience from Backbase’s portfolio of banks and tech experts.”

Before joining Backbase, Shayan led digital transformation initiatives as Techcombank’s Chief Technology Officer, achieving benchmark-setting results in just 9 months. In addition, as the Chief Digital Officer at HD Bank, he led a transformation that saw 4x customer growth under his leadership.

“The Center of Excellence will harness AI to deepen the value our customers can obtain from the Backbase Engagement Banking Platform, by increasing customer usage and servicing experience, as well as provide access to analytics for informed decision-making. The Center of Excellence aims to vertically integrate AI to uplift customer lifetime value and accelerate development and deployment of products for banks to have access to AI-driven features soon,” adds Shayan.

A forecast by McKinsey predicts that generative AI has the potential to create up to $340 billion in value for banks, while still in the nascent stages of AI development in the region. The CoE will prioritize practical AI applications to enhance business outcomes, rather than focusing solely on R&D efforts. The goal is to create AI capabilities that accelerate customer lifetime value and engagement, integrating these solutions seamlessly on top of Backbase’s existing architecture.

Vietnam as a growing hub for Backbase

Backbase’s annual flagship conference, ENGAGE, will take place in Ho Chi Minh City on September 11 – 12 this year. Core leadership team members, including the CEO, CPO, CTO, and Product Directors, will gather to share the latest global insights and unveil new technological innovations. A key highlight of this year’s conference will be the focus on AI and the new Center of Excellence. With the theme “Banking Reinvented,” the ENGAGE Asia 2024 will feature a wealth of content, from go-live success stories to pioneering achievements in digital banking and transformation. These presentations and use cases will showcase the real-world progress of Asian banks that have boldly embraced customer-centric approaches. Banking leaders from across Asia are invited to join this impactful event.

Vietnam is growing to be a key hub for teams to come together from all across the Southeast Asian region and beyond. Through its investments in Vietnam, Backbase is set to redefine the boundaries of AI in the banking sector, driving innovation, customer engagement, and business growth for banks globally.

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