banks go AI-first

OpenAI launches. Agents go shopping. Digital health mega-rounds.   View in browser August 7, 2025 Money talks Hi there,   Here is this week's Hot or Not. Hot: Banking AI   Financial services companies are diving headfirst into AI agents.    Just this week, Wells Fargo expanded its Google Cloud partnership to roll out AI agents across all workforce levels, from call centers to corporate banking.    Meanwhile, Anthropic recently launched its Financial Analysis Solution on Claude with capabilities like deal material review and compliance benchmarking.   Per CB Insights' analysis of 100 genAI applications in financial services, 24% of deployments are cross-functional AI platforms, with firms like J.P. Morgan already supporting 200K employees through AWS partnerships.   See CB Insights' analysis of the applications transforming banking and insurance operations. Not: Digital health companies without an AI focus Ambience just raised a $273M mega-round, highlighting how AI-focused healthcare startups are commanding mega-rounds while non-AI digital health companies struggle for funding.   Traditional digital health companies, from telehealth platforms to wellness apps — are getting squeezed out as investors prioritize AI solutions that automate workflows and improve diagnostics. For instance, some of last quarter's largest deals in the space include:  Neuralink: Brain–computer interface company, $650M Series E Pathos: AI-driven oncology drug developer, $365M Series D Abridge: GenAI clinical documentation platform, 300M Series E See which digital health companies are positioned for the next wave of mega-rounds in CB Insights' State of Digital Health Q2'25 report.   Hot: Agentic commerce   The building blocks of AI-powered shopping are accelerating fast.    Tech and e-commerce leaders, including OpenAI, Nvidia, Amazon, Walmart, Google, and Apple — are already building AI systems that are steps away from conducting transactions.    And the infrastructure for it is coming together. CB Insights tracks 3 key markets building the foundation to enable autonomous commerce:  Generative engine optimization (GEO) Retail AI agents  AI agent payment infrastructure See how the space is taking shape in CB Insights' research on the markets fueling the shift to agentic commerce.   Not: LLM developers not named OpenAI   Earlier this week, OpenAI dropped its first open models since GPT-2.    The models run on laptops and match the performance of OpenAI's smaller reasoning models.    Today, OpenAI launched its most advanced closed model yet: GPT-5. CB Insights' research shows this fits enterprises' hybrid approach: companies are looking to both open and closed models, with 94% using multiple LLM providers, to balance performance, control, and cost considerations. Check out our research on the closed vs. open-source model divide. The +1 Source: u/DigSignificant1419 via Reddit   Nonsense. GPT-5 dwarfs everything.     I love you.   Anand @asanwal  Co-Founder & Exec Chair   P.S. Want to learn more about building enterprise-ready agents? Register for our briefing on what powers the smartest AI agents here.  Exclusive Startup Access: 75% Off CB Insights Learn more CB Insights' emerging technology insights platform provides all the analysis and data from this newsletter. Our data is the easiest way to discover and respond to emerging tech.  Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up here Copyright © 2025 CB Insights, All rights reserved. 498 7th Avenue, NY, CB Insights, New York,10018 About Us | Update Preferences | Research | Newsletter