Backbase has announced the acquisition of Kasisto, a pioneer in agentic AI for banking and financial services. Kasisto’s agentic platform, financial services intelligence, and New York-based team are now part of Backbase and the AI-native Banking OS.
Most banks have deployed agentic AI in isolated pockets — agents that answer questions without resolving work, leaving intent fragmented across channels, contact centres, and operations. Closing that gap requires purpose-built banking intelligence, reasoning-native agents, and governance embedded from the ground up – not generic AI platforms.
Together, Backbase and Kasisto deliver the only AI-native solution built for the full complexity of agentic banking in regulated financial services.
The acquisition is a defining step in Backbase’s mission to deliver the Unified Frontline — one operating model where customers, employees, and AI agents operate as one with shared context, governed authority, and the same source of customer truth. With Kasisto embedded at the core of the AI-native Banking OS, banks can finally resolve customer intent through governed, intelligent execution.
The strategic acquisition advances Backbase’s three strategic priorities:
- Banking-grade agentic AI, embedded in the Banking OS. Kasisto’s agentic platform is built on the latest generation of reasoning-native AI — intelligent agents that understand context, apply judgment, and act within banking-specific governance and compliance controls. Combined with the Banking OS, banks can deploy agents that natively handle the full arc from customer intent to governed resolution across all conversational banking surfaces such as chat, messaging, and voice.
- AI-native Customer Operations and front-to-back resolution. Many customer needs still break down between digital self-service, contact centres, servicing teams, and back-office operations. Kasisto’s conversational and agentic AI capabilities, combined with the Banking OS, turn customer intent into governed execution — collecting evidence, checking eligibility, applying policy, triggering workflows, and resolving the need end to end. Banks move from agents that answer questions to agents that resolve work — including proactive, compliant outbound engagement before customer needs become inbound service demand.
- Deepen US footprint. The acquisition unites complementary agentic AI capabilities, established customer bases across North America, and expert teams under one roof — strengthening Backbase’s position in its largest strategic growth market.
Jouk Pleiter, CEO and Founder at Backbase, said, “This acquisition sharpens our position as the strategic partner for banks serious about AI transformation. Kasisto brings proven agentic AI and deep financial services intelligence – moving us decisively into the era where customers express intent naturally and the bank resolves it through governed, intelligent execution. With Kasisto inside the Banking OS, no one is better positioned to lead the shift from conversation to resolution.”
Lance Berks, CEO at Kasisto, said, “Agentic AI will reshape banking over the next decade. Together, Backbase and Kasisto represent the convergence of the AI-native banking OS and purpose-built agentic AI and financial services intelligence, setting a new standard for how banks and financial institutions compete and win.”
The combined Agentic Banking suite is available immediately through the Banking OS to all current and future customers.
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