According to co-founder Henrique Dubugras, Brex, which is valued at around $2.6 billion, “was never going to be just a corporate credit card company.” So today, the credit card for startups company announced its latest offering: Brex Cash, which minimizes the expense and tediousness of wiring money through a traditional bank.
, it will take Brex Cash less than a minute to wire transfer. And Dubugras told Crunchbase News that Brex Cash may be obtained by startups that weren’t eligible for the Brex credit card.
“Building a bank is difficult,� Dubugras told us. “So we built something better.�
Brex’s intro video:
— Natasha Mascarenhas (@ TC DISRUPT) (@nmasc_)
What It Does
Before Brex cash, the company’s flagship offering was a credit card that could give loans to startups in spaces like retail, SaaS and life sciences. Now with the cash integration, Brex is looking to be a “bank account replacement.�
Dubugras, on stage, added that it traditionally costs $23 dollars to wire money. With Brex Cash, he said that it costs $0, and you get Brex Points, too.
He walked me through the process as a potential startup: As a new startup, if your investor uses Brex you can instantly get money from a new round. And then you can instantly layer in payments, payroll, and do whatever you would traditionally do. He said the bets of Brex are working: Scale.AI joined with Brex when it was only 4 people and at a seed round. Now it’s a unicorn, surpassing $1 billion in valuation.
A Funding Rewind
The San Francisco company most recently raised $100 million in a round led by Kleiner Perkins Digital Growth Fund. Existing investors also joined in, including Y Combinator Continuity, GreenOaks Capital, Ribbit Capital, DST Global, and IVP. Its total known funding to date is $315 million.
Back then, the startup said the new capital will be used to expand spending features and rewards. , there’s financing tailored for e-commerce startups or life sciences startups, offering points for lab equipment, for example.
It also said the new capital would fuel a broader audience. With its flagship offering, the credit card, Brex is already tapping into a crowd most financiers are too scared to bet on: risky, high-churn startups.
The most obvious competitor, Stripe, comes from the same Y-Combinator roots itself.
Early last month, Stripe, a payment processing behemoth, launched Stripe Capital touting quick loans and flat fees for startups needing capital. It also announced a credit card for startups.
Dubugras said that the Stripe card’s “similarity was quite surprising.�
“Every time an incumbent launches a product, the insurgent has to compete,� he added on stage at TechCrunch Disrupt, when TC reporter Kate Clark asked about what it would be like to go against a company with a longer lifetime. Dubugras pointed to Stripe doing multiple products, but for Brex, this card and cash “is their life.�
As both Stripe and Brex raised hundreds of millions the heels of each other, we’ll see which one convinces risky startups to take a bet on their alternative to banking.
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