Capital One deepens UVA partnership to advance AI research

At Capital One, we know that advancing state-of-the-art AI innovation requires long-term, multi-sector partnerships, including with many of the nation's top research universities and institutions. 

Today we are excited to announce that we’re deepening our partnership with the University of Virginia (UVA) by partnering to launch a new $4.5 million initiative with the UVA School of Engineering and Applied Science to accelerate AI research and empower the next generation of AI leaders. The partnership includes a $2 million investment to create the Capital One AI Research Neighborhood at UVA Engineering, which will be matched by an additional $2 million from the university for a total facility investment of $4 million. An additional $500,000 will establish the Capital One PhD Fellowship Awards program to support PhD students conducting AI research.

Today’s announcement reflects an exciting next chapter in our long-standing collaboration with UVA, including the launch of Capital One Hub, home to UVA’s School of Data Science, announced last year and support of the UVA Data Justice Academy, which works to advance representation in the data science field.

Establishing the UVA Capital One AI Research Neighborhood

Four new research “Neighborhoods” in UVA Engineering's transformative new Whitehead Road Engineering Academic Building will bring together faculty and students from across the university to focus on research in the fields of AI, Energy, Biomaterials and Health, and Environment and Sustainability. 

The Capital One AI Research Neighborhood will serve as the epicenter of AI research at UVA, bringing together more than 50 AI researchers from UVA Engineering. The facility will focus on cutting-edge research in machine learning, data analytics, behavioral design, cyber systems and model-based systems engineering. 

Researchers will tackle major and multifaceted industry challenges at the leading edge of AI, including scaling AI systems, orchestrating complex data at scale and advancing state-of-the-art, real-time experiences. The building will also include maker spaces, classrooms and other spaces that foster learning, collaboration and networking.

Empowering the next generation of AI leaders

The Capital One PhD Fellowship Awards will provide annual support to PhD students in UVA Engineering who are conducting research at the frontier of AI. The program aims to inspire and develop the next generation of AI researchers.

Capital One’s commitment to the frontier of AI and data science

Our partnership with UVA Engineering builds on Capital One's existing network of academic collaborations and reinforces our commitment to staying at the forefront of AI applications that better serve customers and advance the financial services industry. In 2024, we partnered with the UVA School of Data Science to create the Capital One Hub, a collaborative space for UVA’s data science community of faculty and students to come together, share ideas, make discoveries and push forward cutting-edge advances in the field of data science.

See how our AI research is advancing the state of the art in AI for financial services and learn more about Capital One’s Academia and Science Partnerships.