Amercian Express to buy Altman-backed Hyper in push for AI-powered expense tools

Credit card giant American Express said on Thursday it would buy Hyper, an artificial intelligence-focused expense management startup backed by OpenAI Chief Executive Sam Altman.

The deal underscores how large financial firms are racing to bring AI into ‌core business ⁠software, ⁠especially in areas such as expense management where manual work, ​compliance checks and repetitive approvals can be automated.

In a letter ​to shareholders last month, AmEx CEO Stephen Squeri said AI was creating a "structural shift" in how businesses ​operate.


The purchase could strengthen AmEx's ⁠efforts to ‌offer more automation tools to commercial ​clients, ​and position it well in the corporate ⁠spending market. Financial terms of the deal ​were not disclosed.

Founded in 2022, Hyper develops ​AI agents that can categorize expenses, file reports, check them against budgets and company policies and send submission reminders.

The company touts Altman as an investor. It had partnered with AmEx in 2024 ‌to launch a credit card. AmEx said the latest deal was expected to ​close in ​the second ⁠quarter of 2026.

AmEx, which has been looking to ramp up its presence in the commercial space, launched a new commercial credit card last month with cashback rewards and other perks for an annual fee of $295. It also plans to introduce another card later this year.