UK Financial Regulator Partners with Nvidia to Launch AI 'Supercharged Sandbox' for Financial Firms

UK financial regulator partners with Nvidia in AI 'sandbox'

LONDON, June 9 - Financial firms in Britain will be able to test artificial intelligence tools later this year in a regulatory "sandbox" launched on Monday by the country's financial watchdog, part of a broader government strategy to support innovation and economic growth. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has partnered with U.S. chipmaker Nvidia (NVDA.O), opens new tab to provide access to advanced computing power and bespoke AI software through what it calls a "Supercharged Sandbox." A sandbox refers to a controlled environment where companies can test new ideas such as products, services or technologies. The programme is intended to help firms in the early stages of exploring AI, offering access to technical expertise, better datasets and regulatory support, the FCA said. It is open to all financial services companies experimenting with AI. "This collaboration will help those that want to test AI ideas but who lack the capabilities to do so," Jessica Rusu, the FCA's chief data, information and intelligence officer, said. "We'll help firms harness AI to benefit our markets and consumers, while supporting economic growth." Finance minister Rachel Reeves has urged Britain's regulators to remove barriers to economic growth, describing it as an "absolute top priority" for the government. In April, she said she was pleased with how the FCA and the Prudential Regulation Authority, part of the Bank of England, were responding to her call to cut red tape. Nvidia said the initiative would allow firms to explore AI-powered innovations in a secure environment, using its accelerated computing platform. "AI is fundamentally reshaping the financial sector," said Jochen Papenbrock, EMEA head of financial technology at Nvidia, citing improvements in data analysis, automation and risk management. He added that the sandbox will provide firms with a "secure environment to explore AI innovations using Nvidia's full-stack accelerated computing platform, supporting industry-wide growth and efficiency." The testing is set to begin in October. Reporting by Sam Tabahriti; Editing by David Holmes Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab Suggested Topics:Artificial Intelligence

UK finance watchdog teams up with Nvidia to let banks experiment with AI

LONDON -- Britain's financial services watchdog on Monday announced a new tie-up with U.S. chipmaker Nvidia to let banks safely experiment with artificial intelligence. The Financial Conduct Authority said it will launch a so-called Supercharged Sandbox that will "give firms access to better data, technical expertise and regulatory support to speed up innovation." Starting from October, financial services institutions in the U.K. will be allowed to experiment with AI using Nvidia's accelerated computing and AI Enterprise Software products, the watchdog said in a press release. The initiative is designed for firms in the "discovery and experiment phase" with AI, the FCA noted, adding that a separate live testing service exists for firms further along in AI development.

UK banks to experiment with Nvidia AI in 'supercharged sandbox' scheme

Financial Conduct Authority launches initiative to 'speed up innovation' and help spur economic growth The UK's financial regulator is to allow banks and other City firms to experiment with the US chipmaker Nvidia's leading AI products to "speed up innovation" and fulfil government orders to boost UK growth. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said it was launching a "supercharged sandbox" that would give successful applicants the chance to experiment safely with cutting-edge AI under the watchdog's supervision, allowing them to use Nvidia's accelerated computing products. The regulator is not dictating what those experiments might be, but some firms have previously suggested that AI could be used to identify and intercept authorised push payment fraud, in which victims are tricked into sending money to criminals' bank accounts, or help identify stock market manipulation. The FCA's chief data, intelligence and information officer, Jessica Rusu, said: "This collaboration will help those that want to test AI ideas but who lack the capabilities to do so. We'll help firms harness AI to benefit our markets and consumers, while supporting economic growth." The AI sandbox programme is open to applications, with plans to begin operating in October, nearly a year after the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, ordered the FCA to encourage more risk-taking across the City to help spur growth and competitiveness. The government has been heaping pressure on UK watchdogs to do more to support the economy, amid accusations that red tape has been a barrier to business and inward investment. The FCA's focus on AI comes despite fears that the technology could lead to job losses across a swathe of sectors, including financial services, unless the government implements proper controls. The move chimes, however, with Keir Starmer's calls in January for a huge rollout of AI, including "sector champions" that could drive Britain's role in developing and deploying AI. The collaboration with Nvidia will be hailed by enthusiasts of the new technology. The Silicon Valley company, founded in 1993, has been the engine of the AI market boom, with hype around the technology propelling the firm's valuation to more than $3tn (£2.2tn). Nvidia's head of financial technology for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Jochen Papenbrock, said: "AI is fundamentally reshaping the financial sector by automating processes, enhancing data analysis, and improving decision-making, which leads to greater efficiency, accuracy, and risk management across a wide range of financial activities. "The FCA's supercharged sandbox provides firms with a secure environment to explore AI innovations using Nvidia's full-stack accelerated computing platform, supporting industry-wide growth and efficiency."

UK's new Nvidia-powered sandbox to give banks an AI edge

The sandbox is open to firms in the early stages of experimenting with AI. UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is collaborating with chipmaker Nvidia to enable financial service providers in the country to experiment and innovate using artificial intelligence. The 'supercharged' sandbox is open to firms that are in the early stages of experimenting with AI. The FCA hopes to give the financial sector a boost by providing UK banks access to Nvidia's accelerated computing and its AI enterprise software. The upgraded sandbox, in collaboration with Nvidia, builds on the UK's existing digital sandbox infrastructure by fintech provider NayaOne. Successful applications to the programme will be allowed to use the new sandbox from October, the regulator said. "This collaboration will help those that want to test AI ideas but who lack the capabilities to do so," said Jessica Rusu, the FCA's chief data, intelligence and information officer. "We'll help firms harness AI to benefit our markets and consumers, while supporting economic growth.' Nvidia's Europe, Middle East and Africa head for fintech Dr Jochen Papenbrock said that AI is fundamentally reshaping the financial sector. An AI-led transformation in automation, data analysis and decision-making leads to "greater efficiency, accuracy, and risk management across a wide range of financial activities," he said. The tech's potential in finance has been long known, with a report from last year suggesting that fintechs are set to see a positive impact in the near term from generative AI. While the new sandbox is generally seen as a positive development, some experts point out that an external collaboration might not secure the UK long-term resilience in AI. "Building long-term resilience in the UK means looking carefully at our reliance on external compute," said Mark Boost, the CEO of UK-based cybersecurity firm Civo. "As the AI stack becomes more strategic, the UK should be complementing global partnerships with greater investment in local infrastructure, open standards and technologies we can help shape." Late last year, four US tech firms, CyrusOne, ServiceNow, Cloud HQ and CoreWeave announced investments to a total of £6.3bn to build data centre infrastructure in the UK. Don't miss out on the knowledge you need to succeed. Sign up for the Daily Brief, Silicon Republic's digest of need-to-know sci-tech news.

FCA sets up 'Supercharged Sandbox' for AI experimentation

This content has been selected, created and edited by the Finextra editorial team based upon its relevance and interest to our community. Through a new collaboration, firms will have the opportunity to experiment with AI using Nvidia's full stack accelerated computing platform. The FCA says the initiative will provide access to better data, technical expertise and regulatory support to help firms who are in the discovery and experiment phase with AI. Jessica Rusu, the FCA's chief data, intelligence and information officer, says: "This collaboration will help those that want to test AI ideas but who lack the capabilities to do so. We'll help firms harness AI to benefit our markets and consumers, while supporting economic growth." The new programme arrives just a month after the regulator launched an AI Live Testing service to aid firms who are further along in development and ready to use AI. The FCA last month hosted a roundtable with banking industry leaders over concerns that onerous compliance requirements are stifling investment in artificial intelligence. This came after the banking watchdog found that respondents to a recent FCA and Bank of England survey identified data protection and the Consumer Duty to be in the top three regulatory constraints to AI deployment within financial services.

UK financial regulator partners with Nvidia in AI 'sandbox'

The programme is intended to help firms in the early stages of exploring AI, offering access to technical expertise, better datasets and regulatory support, the FCA said. It is open to all financial services companies experimenting with AI. "This collaboration will help those that want to test AI ideas but who lack the capabilities to do so," Jessica Rusu, the FCA's chief data, information and intelligence officer, said.Financial firms in Britain will be able to test artificial intelligence tools later this year in a regulatory "sandbox" launched on Monday by the country's financial watchdog, part of a broader government strategy to support innovation and economic growth. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has partnered with U.S. chipmaker Nvidia to provide access to advanced computing power and bespoke AI software through what it calls a "Supercharged Sandbox." A sandbox refers to a controlled environment where companies can test new ideas such as products, services or technologies. The programme is intended to help firms in the early stages of exploring AI, offering access to technical expertise, better datasets and regulatory support, the FCA said. It is open to all financial services companies experimenting with AI. "This collaboration will help those that want to test AI ideas but who lack the capabilities to do so," Jessica Rusu, the FCA's chief data, information and intelligence officer, said. "We'll help firms harness AI to benefit our markets and consumers, while supporting economic growth." Finance minister Rachel Reeves has urged Britain's regulators to remove barriers to economic growth, describing it as an "absolute top priority" for the government. In April, she said she was pleased with how the FCA and the Prudential Regulation Authority, part of the Bank of England, were responding to her call to cut red tape. Nvidia said the initiative would allow firms to explore AI-powered innovations in a secure environment, using its accelerated computing platform. "AI is fundamentally reshaping the financial sector," said Jochen Papenbrock, EMEA head of financial technology at Nvidia, citing improvements in data analysis, automation and risk management. He added that the sandbox will provide firms with a "secure environment to explore AI innovations using Nvidia's full-stack accelerated computing platform, supporting industry-wide growth and efficiency." The testing is set to begin in October. (Reporting by Sam Tabahriti; Editing by David Holmes)

Nvidia and FCA Invite Companies to Play in AI 'Sandbox' | PYMNTS.com

By completing this form, you agree to receive marketing communications from PYMNTS and to the sharing of your information with our sponsor, if applicable, in accordance with our Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions. The collaboration, dubbed the "Supercharged Sandbox," lets financial services companies experiment with AI using Nvidia computing and software, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) announced in a news release Monday (June 9). "This collaboration will help those that want to test AI ideas but who lack the capabilities to do so," Jessica Rusu, the FCA's chief data, intelligence and information officer, said in the release. "We'll help firms harness AI to benefit our markets and consumers, while supporting economic growth." According to the release, the sandbox is designed to offer companies access to improved data, technical expertise and regulatory support to speed up innovation, and is open to any financial services firm that wants to experiment with AI. "AI is fundamentally reshaping the financial sector by automating processes, enhancing data analysis, and improving decision-making, which leads to greater efficiency, accuracy, and risk management across a wide range of financial activities," said Dr. Jochen Papenbrock, EMEA head of financial technology at Nvidia. "The FCA's Supercharged Sandbox provides firms with a secure environment to explore AI innovations using NVIDIA's full stack accelerated computing platform, supporting industry-wide growth and efficiency." PYMNTS examined the use of AI in the finance world earlier this year in a conversation with John Kain, head of financial services market development at Amazon Web Services (AWS). "AI has been such an integral part of how the industry has modernized over the last decade. It really is in every part of the financial services value chain," said Kain, a former JPMorgan executive. "What's dramatically changed in the last two years is the impact of generative AI on all those processes." In other news from the intersection of AI and financial services, PYMNTS spoke with John Bresnahan, global head of operations at i2c, in an interview posted Monday about that company's use of the technology for payments and banking functions. "We've been building our AI capabilities for over a decade now," he said. "This isn't a new phrase for us. We really think of AI as augmented intelligence. We don't view it as something that takes over human roles but as something that really enhances them." That approach to viewing AI not as a replacement but as a force multiplier can pave the way for efficiencies through all aspects of operations, including fraud detection, compliance monitoring and customer service analytics. "Our clients aren't looking for the novelty of AI," Bresnahan said. "They're looking for impact."

UK financial regulator partners with Nvidia in AI 'sandbox'

LONDON -Financial firms in Britain will be able to test artificial intelligence tools later this year in a regulatory "sandbox" launched on Monday by the country's financial watchdog, part of a broader government strategy to support innovation and economic growth. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has partnered with U.S. chipmaker Nvidia to provide access to advanced computing power and bespoke AI software through what it calls a "Supercharged Sandbox." A sandbox refers to a controlled environment where companies can test new ideas such as products, services or technologies. The programme is intended to help firms in the early stages of exploring AI, offering access to technical expertise, better datasets and regulatory support, the FCA said. It is open to all financial services companies experimenting with AI. "This collaboration will help those that want to test AI ideas but who lack the capabilities to do so," Jessica Rusu, the FCA's chief data, information and intelligence officer, said. "We'll help firms harness AI to benefit our markets and consumers, while supporting economic growth." Finance minister Rachel Reeves has urged Britain's regulators to remove barriers to economic growth, describing it as an "absolute top priority" for the government. In April, she said she was pleased with how the FCA and the Prudential Regulation Authority, part of the Bank of England, were responding to her call to cut red tape. Nvidia said the initiative would allow firms to explore AI-powered innovations in a secure environment, using its accelerated computing platform. "AI is fundamentally reshaping the financial sector," said Jochen Papenbrock, EMEA head of financial technology at Nvidia, citing improvements in data analysis, automation and risk management. He added that the sandbox will provide firms with a "secure environment to explore AI innovations using Nvidia's full-stack accelerated computing platform, supporting industry-wide growth and efficiency." (Reporting by Sam Tabahriti; Editing by David Holmes)