Brex acquired for $5.15B, Trump wants Greenland, new AI lab Humans& raises $480M

This week the pod kicks off with Anika's unexpected internet fame after a photo of her and her ex's ex went viral with 11M views. If that sounds really random it’s because it was. Tune in to hear the full story and follow us on X @getthecheckpod. If you just want to see the tweet you can go to @anikamirzaa…

Then they dive into Capital One's $5.15B acquisition of Brex, which is down over 50% from its peak valuation. Maya, Anika, and Priya break down the Brex vs. Ramp rivalry and how Ramp caught up despite a two-year head start. They get into the weeds on revenue multiples, who actually made money on the Brex deal (spoiler: YC got 800x), and why this acquisition might be the right move for Brex given Capital One's unlimited balance sheet. The hosts also debate whether Capital One can compete with Amex for corporate cards by combining luxury lounge perks with Brex's software.

Next, they cover the Davos drama. Trump wants to buy Greenland, Denmark said no, and NATO allies are not happy. The hosts explain why Greenland matters strategically: missile defense from adversaries, rare earth minerals, and trade routes. All of this becomes more important as the Arctic melts. Maya shares her thoughts on Trump, in case you didn't know them already.

Finally, the pod covers Humans&, a new AI lab that raised a $480M seed round at $4B. The founders are ex-every major AI lab and their mission is to build "human-centric" AI. The pod discusses the workplace productivity tools they’re going after like Claude Cowork, Notion, Slack, etc. Maya and Anika get into a full debate about whether this is actually different from what every other lab is doing. The pod ends with them agreeing to disagree.

00:00 Anika goes viral

04:41 Capital One acquires Brex for $5.15B

08:20 The Brex vs. Ramp rivalry

19:00 Davos 2026 and the Greenland crisis

25:00 Why Greenland is so important

34:00 Would Humans& the new AI lab “Get the Check”?

44:30 Anika and Maya debate if Humans& is meeting its mission