Brex, the credit card startup, announced Tuesday (June 11) it raised $100 million in venture funding, giving the company a valuation of $2.6 billion.
In a press release, Brex said the funding round was led by Kleiner Perkins Digital Growth Fund, with participation from all existing major investors including Y Combinator Continuity, Ribbit Capital, DST Global, Greenoaks Capital, and IVP. The funding comes a few months after Brex raised $125 million, giving it a valuation of $1.1 billion back then.
Brex said the funding will be used to enhance its product by expanding its corporate spend management features and rewards offerings and to enter new verticals. The company has been enjoying fast-paced growth as its strategy to tailor credit cards to the needs of specific industries appears to be resonating with the business class. Brex extends credit to startups based on the amount of money in their corporate bank accounts. For its eCommerce credit card, it underwrites based on sales.
“At Brex, we build corporate payment technology to accelerate entrepreneurs and scaling companies. We recognize that each business is unique and therefore tailor our product to meet their specific circumstances,” Brex Co-Founder and Co-CEO Henrique Dubugras said in prepared remarks. “With this new funding, we can deliver relevant and unique financial products to an increasingly broad customer base.”
Since rolling out its first credit card for startups last year, Brex has expanded into new markets. In February it launched a credit card geared toward eCommerce businesses. The credit card for eCommerce businesses has 60-day payment terms, interest-free financing, and rewards that are tailored to that group’s needs. To date, Brex has raised $315 million to date and in April it raised $100 million in debt capital from Barclays in the form of a warehouse line of credit.
“We are investing behind Brex’s fundamental vision — that businesses want customized payment solutions tailored to their specific needs,” Mood Rowghani, general partner at Kleiner Perkins Digital Growth Fund and co-founder of Bond, said in the press release. “It is this vision that will continue to propel Brex’s extraordinary growth.”