Capital One just made a $5.15 billion move that could change how businesses manage money

Capital One is buying Brex in a $5.15 billion stock-and-cash deal that underscores how traditional banks are turning to fintech startups to modernize the way businesses manage money.

The acquisition, announced Thursday, would bring the San Francisco–based corporate card and expense management company into the fold of one of the largest U.S. financial institutions. The transaction is expected to close in mid-2026, pending regulatory approval and customary conditions. Brex CEO and cofounder Pedro Franceschi will continue to lead the company as part of Capital One.

At first glance, the deal looks like a straightforward expansion into corporate cards. In reality, it is about software, automation, and how artificial intelligence is beginning to reshape financial operations inside companies.

Brex built its reputation by offering startups corporate cards without personal guarantees and pairing them with tools that made expense tracking and approvals easier. Over time, the company evolved into a broader platform that combines payments, spend management, and banking services in a single interface used by more than 25,000 companies, including DoorDash, Robinhood, Zoom, and Plaid.

In recent years, Brex has increasingly described itself as an “AI-native” finance platform, highlighting tools that automate expense review, enforce spending policies, and reduce the manual work typically handled by finance teams.

That positioning appears to be central to Capital One’s interest.

Why a bank is buying a fintech now

For more than a decade, large banks have tried to compete with fintech startups by building their own digital tools. Many of those efforts have struggled to match the user experience and speed of companies designed from the ground up as software platforms.

Capital One, which has long positioned itself as one of the most technology-forward U.S. banks and was the first major bank to migrate fully to the public cloud, still faces the same challenge as its peers in the commercial banking space. Corporate banking portals and expense tools often feel dated compared with modern fintech products.

Buying Brex gives Capital One a ready-made software layer designed around how companies actually manage spending, rather than how banks traditionally process transactions.

“Acquiring Brex accelerates this journey, especially in the business payments marketplace,” Capital One CEO Richard Fairbank said in a statement announcing the deal.

The broader fintech backdrop

The acquisition comes at a moment when the fintech sector looks very different from its peak in the late 2010s and early 2020s.

Brex was founded in 2017 and quickly became one of Silicon Valley’s most prominent fintech startups, riding a wave of investor enthusiasm for companies that blended software with financial services. Its valuation soared as startups flocked to its corporate card and expense tools.

But as venture funding slowed and interest rates rose, many fintech companies faced tougher conditions. Growth expectations reset, and IPO plans were delayed across the sector. Strategic acquisitions by large banks have increasingly become an alternative path forward.

For banks, these deals offer a way to acquire modern technology and talent without building from scratch. For fintech companies, they offer access to large balance sheets, regulatory infrastructure, and a broader customer base.

A bet on automation inside companies

The deal also reflects a growing focus on how artificial intelligence can change the back-office work of running a business.

Brex has promoted its use of AI agents to automate expense reviews, flag policy violations, and handle tasks that once required manual oversight by finance teams. Rather than simply tracking spending after the fact, the platform aims to guide and control spending in real time.

Capital One appears to see this as a key part of the future of business payments. As companies look to reduce costs and operate more efficiently, tools that cut down on administrative work have become more appealing.

By combining Brex’s software with Capital One’s underwriting, payments network, and deposit base, the bank is positioning itself to offer a more integrated system for how businesses issue cards, manage expenses, and move money.

What happens to Brex

Brex is expected to continue operating under its own leadership after the acquisition, with Franceschi remaining at the helm. That suggests Capital One is aiming to preserve the company’s product approach and culture rather than fold it into a traditional banking unit.

For Brex, the deal provides scale that is difficult for a standalone fintech to achieve. Access to Capital One’s infrastructure and resources could allow it to expand beyond the startup and tech companies that formed its early customer base and into a broader range of U.S. businesses.

A sign of where business finance is heading

The acquisition points to a larger shift in how financial services for businesses are evolving. Corporate cards are no longer just a line of credit. They are part of software systems that manage budgets, approvals, and compliance automatically.

For Capital One, buying Brex is a way to accelerate its move into that model. For Brex, it is a chance to bring its platform to a wider audience under the umbrella of a major bank.

For the fintech industry, the deal is another indication that the next phase of growth may come less from standalone startups and more from partnerships and acquisitions with established financial institutions.

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