Brex
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Financial technology |
| Founded | January 3, 2017 |
| Founder | Henrique Dubugras, Pedro Franceschi |
| Headquarters | San Francisco , United States |
Key people | Doug Adamic (Chief Revenue Officer) |
| Products | Business credit cards, cash management solutions, Brex Empower financial software |
| Website | brex |
Brex Inc. is a U.S.-based fintech firm specializing in business credit cards and cash management solutions specifically designed for technology enterprises. Their business charge cards require either a minimum balance of $50,000 in a professionally managed bank account or a $100,000 initial deposit. Importantly, cardholders' personal credit and assets are safeguarded against any defaults. These cards are issued through Emigrant Bank.
History
Founded on January 3, 2017, Brex was established by Brazilian entrepreneurs Henrique Dubugras and Pedro Franceschi, who had previously created and sold the online payments platform Pagar.me to Stone. The company initially started as a virtual reality venture but shifted focus to fintech within three weeks of joining Y Combinator's accelerator program.
In February 2021, Brex sought an industrial bank charter from the FDIC and the Utah Department of Financial Institutions to launch Brex Bank, a fully owned subsidiary headed by an executive formerly with Silicon Valley Bank.
April 2022 saw the launch of Brex Empower, a financial software tool aimed at simplifying compliance with corporate expense policies. By June 2022, Brex decided to withdraw from serving small and midsize businesses (SMBs) to concentrate solely on enterprise-level clients. In August 2022, Doug Adamic was named chief revenue officer.
On March 9, 2023, just prior to Silicon Valley Bank's collapse, Brex received billions in deposits from SVB customers. In 2024, CNBC placed Brex fourth on its Disruptor 50 ranking.
In January 2024, citing decelerated growth, Brex announced workforce reductions affecting roughly 300 employees—about one-fifth of its staff.
Growth
Brex Inc. has attracted investment from notable backers such as Peter Thiel, Ribbit Capital, Y Combinator, DST Global, Kleiner Perkins, Lone Pine Capital, and Greenoaks. With a valuation exceeding $12 billion, its clientele includes prominent companies like DoorDash Inc. and Airbnb Inc. The firm has also gained support from PayPal co-founders Max Levchin and Peter Thiel, early Facebook investor Yuri Milner, as well as former Visa CEO Carl Pascarella. Serving over 1,000 customers, Brex has completed substantial funding rounds including a $50 million Series B that has propelled its expansion within the fintech sector.