Brex Launches Vancouver Tech Hub With 40 Employees

Silicon Valley payments FinTech Brex opened its first international office, a technology hub in Vancouver, Canada with a 40-person workforce, the company announced on Tuesday (March 3).

The new hub will target software engineering and user experience processes. The startup headed to Vancouver due to its diverse talent pool and skilled global workforce.

Brex is planning to develop a diverse, global team from numerous countries and backgrounds, and encompassing many skill levels — from recent graduates to c-suite executives. Brex was founded in 2017 by Brazilian immigrant entrepreneurs Henrique Dubugras and Pedro Fransceschi, and the two have made a point of hiring staff from many backgrounds. They previously founded the online payments company Pagar.me.

“The phenomenal growth of Vancouver’s technology industry and its embrace of skilled immigrants are inextricably linked,” said Dubugras, co-CEO of Brex. “Brex’s growth and the global diversity of its workforce share a similar connection. We’re thrilled to announce our new office in a location that is so rich in global talent.”

Brex creates corporate credit cards, travel programs and rewards for a variety of industries. It has also launched a corporate credit card for startup companies. The company also has offices in Salt Lake City and New York City.

Cosmin Nicolaescu, vice president of engineering at Brex, told the Daily Hive said the company’s focus right now is on “reimagining financial systems for growing companies.”

“I’m originally from Romania. We have about 35, 36 countries represented at Brex right now,” he added.

He said the new Vancouver office reminds him “a lot of the early days of Brex,” in how “everybody knows everyone, everybody just sticks together, and it’s super fun to be in there, super high energy.”

Brex is backed by Y Combinator and entrepreneur Peter Thiel. It is the latest U.S. tech firm to set up shop in Vancouver, joining Amazon and Microsoft, along with Grammarly, Tile, Slalom, DataCloud International and Tigera.

“Brex benefits from a broad range of perspectives stemming from our internationally diverse workforce of immigrants as well as American- and Canadian-born nationals,” said Nicolaescu, executive sponsor for the Vancouver office. “Technology, and payments specifically, are by their nature global industries, so Brex products and services are improved by our team’s multitude of experiences, connections and context.”

In June, Brex announced it raised $100 million in venture funding, giving the company a valuation of $2.6 billion. The investment 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.