Brex
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Investors
Founders
About
Brex is a fintech company founded on January 3, 2017, by Brazilian entrepreneurs Henrique Dubugras and Pedro Franceschi 12. The founders, who previously co-founded payments company Pagar.me in Brazil, joined Y Combinator’s Winter 2017 batch originally working on a VR startup but pivoted to fintech three weeks into the program after experiencing firsthand the difficulty of obtaining a corporate credit card as startup founders 123.
Brex launched publicly in June 2018 with a corporate credit card designed specifically for startups, underwriting based on a company’s funding and cash balance rather than personal credit history 4. The company expanded into expense management, business accounts, and AI-powered spend management software 5. Brex reached unicorn status in October 2018, just four months after its public launch 1.
In January 2026, Capital One announced a definitive agreement to acquire Brex for $5.15 billion in a combination of cash and stock ($2.75 billion in cash and 10.6 million Capital One shares), a significant discount from Brex’s peak $12.3 billion valuation in January 2022 67. The transaction is expected to close in mid-2026 7.
Funding History
| Date | Round | Amount | Lead | Co-investors | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 2017 | Pre-Seed (YC W17) | $120K | Y Combinator | — | 3 |
| Apr 2017 | Series A | $7M | Ribbit Capital | Y Combinator | 8 |
| Jun 2018 | Series B | $57M | Y Combinator Continuity | Ribbit Capital, Peter Thiel, Max Levchin, Yuri Milner | 4 |
| Oct 2018 | Series C | $125M | Greenoaks Capital, DST Global, IVP | — | 9 |
| Apr 2019 | Debt | $100M | Barclays Investment Bank | — | 10 |
| Jun 2019 | Series C-2 | $100M | Kleiner Perkins Digital Growth Fund | Y Combinator Continuity, Ribbit Capital, DST Global, Greenoaks Capital, IVP | 10 |
| Dec 2019 | Debt | $200M | Credit Suisse | — | 11 |
| May 2020 | Series C-3 | $150M | DST Global | Lone Pine Capital | 12 |
| Apr 2021 | Series D | $425M | Tiger Global | TCV, GIC, Baillie Gifford, Madrone Capital, Durable Capital, Base10, Y Combinator Continuity, Ribbit Capital, DST Global, Greenoaks Capital, Lone Pine Capital, IVP | 5 |
| Jan 2022 | Series D-2 | $300M | Greenoaks Capital, TCV | — | 13 |
| Jan 2025 | Debt | $235M | Citi | TPG | 11 |
What Investors Say
Scott Shleifer, Partner at Tiger Global, on leading Brex’s Series D: “Brex builds finance for the next generation of businesses. We’re excited to partner as they grow rapidly and lead an industry dominated by incumbents” 5.
Mood Rowghani, General Partner at Kleiner Perkins Digital Growth Fund, on leading Brex’s Series C-2: “We are investing behind Brex’s fundamental vision – that businesses want customized payment solutions tailored to their specific needs. It is this vision that will continue to propel Brex’s extraordinary growth” 10.
Richard D. Fairbank, Capital One Founder, Chairman, and CEO, on the acquisition: “Acquiring Brex accelerates this journey, especially in the business payments marketplace” 7.
What Founders Say
Pedro Franceschi, on the Capital One acquisition: “This isn’t a story about cost synergies. It’s a story about growth acceleration, about two founder-led companies coming together to bring a better way to manage money to millions of businesses” 14.
Pedro Franceschi, on combining with Capital One: “Together, we’ll maximize founder mode by combining Brex’s payments expertise and spend management software with Capital One’s massive scale” 7.
Henrique Dubugras, on founding insight: “We could not get a credit card for our startup despite having $120,000 in funding from Y Combinator” 3.
Henrique Dubugras, on product philosophy: “We believe you have to actually rebuild the financial product” when redefining customer experience, rather than simply layering an app on top of existing solutions 15.
Henrique Dubugras, on ambition: “We never wanted to be serial entrepreneurs. We just wanted to build one company and work on it for, like, 30 years. That’s our dream and it’s what we want to do with Brex” 2.
Henrique Dubugras, on the Series C: “With this fresh funding, we are able to enhance our growth efforts and continue to benefit founders and operators” 9.
Henrique Dubugras, on the Series D: “Our investors believe in our team, business model, product vision, and customers. This round fuels growth of our financial solution” 5.
Sources
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“How the 22-year-old founders of Brex built a billion-dollar business in less than 2 years,” TechCrunch, October 5, 2018. https://techcrunch.com/2018/10/05/how-the-22-year-old-founders-of-brex-built-a-billion-dollar-business-in-less-than-2-years/↩↩↩
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“Henrique Dubugras and Pedro Franceschi: The Young Founders of Brex Who Rebuilt Startup Finance From The Inside Out,” BIZ.BIO, accessed March 2026. https://biz.bio/founders/henrique-dubugras-and-pedro-franceschi-the-young-founders-who-rebuilt-startup-finance-from-the-inside-out/↩↩↩
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“Q&A with Henrique Dubugras and Pedro Franceschi, Cofounders of Brex,” Y Combinator Blog, accessed March 2026. https://www.ycombinator.com/blog/qa-with-henrique-dubugras-and-pedro-franceschi-cofounders-of-brex↩↩↩
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“Brex picks up $57M to build an easy credit card for startups,” TechCrunch, June 19, 2018. https://techcrunch.com/2018/06/19/brex-picks-up-57m-to-build-an-easy-credit-card-for-startups/↩↩
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“Brex Announces Series D Investment Round,” Brex Press Release / Business Wire, April 26, 2021. https://www.brex.com/journal/press/series-d-investment↩↩↩↩
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“Capital One acquires Brex for a steep discount to its peak valuation, but early believers are laughing all the way to the bank,” TechCrunch, January 22, 2026. https://techcrunch.com/2026/01/22/capital-one-acquires-brex-for-steep-discount-to-its-peak-valuation-but-early-believers-are-laughing-all-the-way-to-the-bank/↩
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“Capital One to Acquire Brex,” Capital One Investor Relations, January 22, 2026. https://investor.capitalone.com/news-releases/news-release-details/capital-one-acquire-brex↩↩↩↩
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“Brex — Funding Rounds & Investors,” Newcomer / Crunchbase data, accessed March 2026. https://www.newcomer.co/p/brex-sale-to-capital-one-a-letdown↩
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“Brex Closes $125 Million Series C with Investment from Greenoaks, DST Global and IVP,” Brex Press Release, October 5, 2018. https://www.brex.com/journal/press/series-c↩↩
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“Brex Closes $100 Million Investment Led by Kleiner Perkins Digital Growth Fund,” Brex Press Release, June 11, 2019. https://www.brex.com/journal/press/series-c-2↩↩↩
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“How Much Did Brex Raise? Funding & Key Investors,” Clay Dossier, accessed March 2026. https://www.clay.com/dossier/brex-funding↩↩
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“Brex brings on $150M in new cash in case of an ‘extended recession,’” TechCrunch, May 19, 2020. https://techcrunch.com/2020/05/19/brex-brings-on-150m-in-new-cash-in-case-of-an-extended-recession/↩
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“Fintech Brex confirms $12.3B valuation, snaps up Meta exec to serve as its head of product,” TechCrunch, January 11, 2022. https://techcrunch.com/2022/01/11/brex-confirms-12-3b-valuation-hires-meta-exec-to-serve-as-its-chief-product-officer/↩
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“Brex is joining forces with Capital One,” Brex Blog, January 22, 2026. https://www.brex.com/journal/brex-and-capital-one-join-forces↩
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“Henrique Dubugras and Anu Hariharan Discuss Brex’s Corporate Card For Startups,” Y Combinator Blog, accessed March 2026. https://www.ycombinator.com/blog/henrique-dubugras-and-anu-hariharan-discuss-brexs-corporate-card-for-startups↩