Remember when AI was just a chatbot that could write your emails? Yeah, those days are over. Now we’re talking about agentic AI—basically AI systems that can actually *do stuff* without you holding their hand. They can make decisions, execute workflows, and handle complex tasks with minimal human supervision. Think of them as the difference between having a really smart intern who needs constant direction versus one who just gets things done.
And guess where this technology is making the biggest splash? Finance. Because of course it is.
Last week, both OpenAI and Anthropic announced they’re building AI agents specifically for financial services. OpenAI partnered with PwC to create systems that automate repetitive financial work and help teams make faster decisions. Anthropic went even further, launching 10 new AI agents designed specifically for banks—handling everything from drafting credit memos to building pitchbooks. These aren’t theoretical projects either; Anthropic already partnered with Fidelity National Information Services to deploy AI-driven software that catches financial crimes more efficiently.
The vines are creeping up the walls of Wall Street, and the transformation is happening faster than most people realize.
Here’s where it gets interesting: Block Inc. (XYZ) is already positioned to dominate this shift. You know Block—the fintech giant behind Square’s point-of-sale systems that process over $200 billion annually. They’ve expanded into peer-to-peer payments, small business software, buy-now-pay-later, e-commerce, and crypto. Now they’re adding AI agents to that arsenal.
Block made a bold move last year: they cut a significant portion of their workforce while aggressively adopting AI tools internally. Controversial? Sure. But the results speak for themselves. Three months later, their gross-profit growth accelerated to 27% from 24%, hitting $2.9 billion in Q1—beating Wall Street’s $2.8 billion expectation. Their CFO credited the speed of product development, powered by internal AI tools.
Block even created an open-source AI agent framework called Goose that helps employees automate workflows. And they didn’t stop there. Back in December, Block partnered with OpenAI and Anthropic to launch the Agentic AI Foundation under the Linux Foundation. The goal? Create open standards so AI agents from different companies can work together seamlessly—basically the internet, but for AI agents.
Block contributed Goose to this effort. OpenAI contributed AGENTS.md. Anthropic contributed MCP (Model Context Protocol). Together, they’re building the infrastructure for the next wave of AI winners.
The companies that reorganize themselves around AI agents will dominate the next decade. Block is betting big that it’ll be one of them. And based on their execution so far, that bet is looking pretty smart.
The AI gold rush in finance isn’t coming—it’s already here. The question is whether you’re paying attention.
