FIS Acquires AI-Native OpenCoreOS as Core Banking Consolidation Continues

Editorial Calendar Exclusive Content Editor's Choice FIS Acquires AI-Native OpenCoreOS as Core Banking Consolidation Continues FIS toldThe Fintech Timesthe deal completed in March and that Somji has since joined the company as president of enterprise platforms. Financial terms were not disclosed. The deal was not announced at the time, althoughCompanies Houserecords put the change of control on 18 March, when Fidelity National Information Services was registered as owning at least 75 per cent of OpenCoreOS UK’s shares and voting rights, as well as having the right to appoint or remove directors.

Somji ceased to be a person with significant control on the same day. The board also changed, with all four existing directors stepping down and two new directors appointed. Bigger core banking providers are increasingly buying newer technology rather than building it themselves, according to analysts, who expect more deals to follow.

Paul Schaus, founder and managing partner of banking consultancyCCG Catalyst,says: “It tells me the large providers have decided it is faster and cheaper to buy innovation than to build it.” He citesFiserv’s acquisition ofFinxact,FIS’s purchase ofBondandSoFi’s acquisition ofTechnisysas earlier examples of established financial technology companies buying newer platforms. On OpenCoreOS, Schaus says: “When a company that is young gets acquired, the buyer is not buying a business, because there was no business yet. FIS bought the technology direction, the team, and time.” OpenCoreOS wasintroduced in October 2025 as the “next chapter”in Somji’s work on banking technology, after a period in stealth.

The company described OpenCoreOS as an AI-native core modernisation platform and said general availability was planned for the first quarter of 2026. Somji had already stepped down as chief executive of Zafin after more than two decades leading the banking technology company, while staying on its board. He founded OpenCoreOS with former HSBC global CIOSteve Van