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QueerTech's partnership with Tech@RBC is rooted in our shared commitment to creating more opportunities in tech. RBC’s annual Catalyst conference showcases this commitment, amplifying AI advancement, celebrating tech talent, and reaffirming the bank’s focus on continuous learning, collaboration, and responsible innovation.
Attribution:
Originally published by RBC on jobs.rbc.com. Reposted with permission / in partnership with RBC.
RBC’s Catalyst conference started in 2015 as a grassroots initiative to connect technologists across the organization. A decade later, Catalyst is the bank’s very own annual tech expo and the most anticipated technology event in the annual calendar.
In October 2025, thousands of RBC technologists and their business partners came together in Canada and globally to share ideas and drive innovation. More than 4,000 people attended the Toronto event alone with hundreds of others attending similar events across the globe.
The 2025 theme was “Banking Re-imagined with Technology" with a special focus on the transformative power of AI and emerging technologies.
In addition to showcasing RBC technology, the event is known for keynotes and panel discussions featuring some of the leading voices in technology and this year didn’t disappoint. Nick Frosst, co-founder of AI company Cohere kicked off the conference in a conversation with Martin Wildberger, executive vice president of Innovation and Technology for RBC. Nick talked about Cohere’s inception and rise throughout the past few years and shared his views on the latest advancements and possibilities in AI-powered banking. Meanwhile on the expo floor in Toronto, and through various hybrid workshops, demonstrations and talks, attendees learned how RBC is leveraging AI innovation to reimagine products, operations and client experiences.
In celebration of RBC’s engineering culture, Catalyst hosted regional hackathons where participants completed challenges aimed at solving problems using artificial intelligence (AI). Their access to an AI-powered development environment helped enhance productivity and accelerate innovation, allowing participants to explore how AI-powered tools could augment their problem-solving approaches throughout the event.
Catalyst also launched the VIP Leadership Program this year which welcomed RBC’s most senior executives to the Toronto expo floor where they took part in a guided expo tour, explored interactive showcases of our latest innovations and connected directly with the teams driving these technologies.
A highlight of the tour was seeing some of the solutions that will help RBC to drive its bold ambition to achieve $700 million to $1 billion in enterprise value generated from AI-driven benefits by 2027.
Catalyst continues to showcase RBC’s innovation and technical excellence while reinforcing its commitment to continuous learning, collaboration and responsible innovation. It inspires RBC technologists to think differently, build boldly and reimagine the future of banking through technology.
“Catalyst is a great expression of what the bank can look like in the future. It offers technologists at RBC the opportunity to share their latest innovations and gives attendees an opportunity to explore and learn about new technologies that are shaping the future of banking."
- Bruce Ross, Group Head, Technology & Operations
When companies like RBC invest in people and technology, they create more than innovation; they create opportunity. To learn more about available opportunities, visit Tech@RBC or the QueerTech Jobs board.