The State of AI Research in Banking
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ABOUT THE STATE OF AI RESEARCH IN BANKING
The State of AI Research in Banking is a comprehensive analysis of how 50 major banks are building and growing in-house AI research teams in order to accelerate AI deployment.
The report provides a data-driven view of:
- How banks are organizing their AI research teams
- How the focus of AI research explored by banks is changing
- Where and how does AI research accelerate use cases and business outcomes
The State of AI Research in Banking is fuelled by data from our new AI Research Tracker, a library of 1,000+ AI research papers published by the 50 banks featured in the Evident AI Index. The AI Research Tracker is updated every six months to provide an unparalleled window into the world of AI research in finance.
Read more in our Key Findings below. To learn more about The State of AI Research in Banking, or to access the database of AI research papers, contact us here.
KEY FINDINGS
1
EXPANDING RESEARCH OUTPUT HITS NEW PEAK
Over the past five years, the banks tracked in the Evident AI Index have increased their annual AI research output by 7X. This rapidly expanding body of applied work cements a distinct model of inquiry from that observed across industrial labs, frontier labs, and the wider world of academia.
2
THE NUMBER OF BANKS PUBLISHING AI RESEARCH HAS DOUBLED SINCE 2019
Since 2019, the number of banks publishing any AI research has surged from 25 to 46 out of the 50 banks tracked by Evident. This expanding level of participation in AI research crested in 2023 – underscoring the ubiquity of research capability within the current ecosystem
3
NORTH AMERICAN BANKS CONTINUE TO DOMINATE THE RESEARCH AGENDA
While more banks have gradually joined the fold over time, the bulk of AI research remains overwhelmingly driven by a select North American contingent – including those banks that were first off-the-mark in establishing AI labs. To date, nearly 80% of AI-specific research originates from banks based in the USA or Canada.
4
ESTABLISHED LEADERS CONSISTENTLY DRIVE MAJORITY OF RESEARCH OUTPUT YOY
Last year, nearly 65% of AI research was driven by just five banks: JPMorganChase (37%), Capital One (14%), RBC (5%), Wells Fargo (5%), and TD Bank (4%). This dominance over the research landscape has remained highly consistent year-over-year since at least 2019.
5
TOP-10 TEAMS ACCOUNT FOR NEARLY 75% OF ALL AI RESEARCHERS IN BANKING
Not all AI research teams are created equal. Nearly three-quarters of AI researchers who contribute to AI-specific papers during their tenure at the bank are found at just 10 institutions. The vast majority of these banks are highly centralized in terms of organization and leadership.
6
TOPIC ANALYSIS REVEALS BALANCE BETWEEN PRACTICAL VS. CUTTING EDGE RESEARCH
Topic analysis of AI research papers reveals banks are balancing practical experimentation against exploration of frontier topics, including: multi-agent reasoning, causal AI, and tabular foundation models.
7
RISE IN AGENTIC RESEARCH REFLECTS PRIORITIZATION OF APPLIED WORK
Across 2022-25, we observed a significant rise in the number of papers focused on AI Agents and Agent-based Systems. This data also demonstrates how banks are shifting away from General Purpose and/or pure research (e.g., Scientific Discovery) – in favor of applied research that clearly relates to immediate business applications.
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The State of AI Research in Banking
The State of AI Research in Banking 2025
The State of AI Research in Banking is a comprehensive analysis of how banks are building and growing in-house AI research teams in order to accelerate AI deployment.
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