Solaris Cuts 80 Jobs Amid Transformation Into ‘AI-Native Bank’

German embedded finance platform Solaris is cutting 20% of its workforce, about 80 roles out of 400, as it transforms itself into an “AI-native bank,” Tech.eu reported Wednesday (March 25).

This restructuring follows Solaris’ previous job cuts, a write-down and a November 2024 rescue funding round by Japanese investor SBI Group, according to the report.

Reached by PYMNTS, Solaris confirmed that the company is cutting 20% of its workforce. The company added that it is supporting the transition with comprehensive measures that include severance packages.

The company’s CEO, Steffen Jentsch, said in a Wednesday post on LinkedIn that Solaris “had to part ways with valued colleagues” but did not specify a number.

“We want to sincerely thank those who have been part of Solaris’ journey so far and are now moving on to new opportunities,” Jentsch said in the post.

PYMNTS reported in January that Jentsch, who was previously chief information officer and chief process officer for FinTech flatexDEGIRO AG, became CEO of Solaris after Carsten Höltkemeyer stepped down at the end of 2025.

Solaris said in a Wednesday press release that three months after Jentsch became CEO, the firm, together with majority shareholder SBI Group, aims to transform itself into an “AI-native bank.”

The company will expand its embedded finance platform into a pan-European financial infrastructure whose processes are largely automated by artificial inteligence, according to the release. AI agents will handle operational processes, while humans will handle control and governance, it said.

Solaris said that this effort will build on the company’s German full banking license, application programming interface-based platform, 10 years of experience in the banking-as-a-service (BaaS) market, and long-term financial support from SBI.

“We are developing a platform that combines this infrastructure with AI and rebuilds banking processes from the ground up,” Jentsch said in the release. “With the EU AI Act and DORA [Digital Operational Resilience Act], Europe is creating the regulatory framework needed for this step. Together with SBI and in close dialogue with the regulatory authorities, we are developing Solaris into an AI-native bank and creating new growth through the broad use of artificial intelligence in banking.”

Yoshitaka Kitao, representative director, chairman, president and CEO of SBI Holdings, said in the release: “The shift to an AI-native bank makes Solaris the platform through which we can realize our vision of a digital financial infrastructure in Europe.”