Brex, widely known for its billboards littered across San Francisco, has secured a $100 million debt financing from Barclays Investment Bank .
The company, which provides a corporate credit card designed specifically for startups, has previously raised $215 million in equity funding at a $1.1 billion valuation in the less than two years since it graduated from the Y Combinator startup accelerator.
Debt, Brex chief executive officer Henrique Dubugras tells TechCrunch, will power the company’s next phase of growth.
“Because we raised so much equity so fast, we put a lot of it to work on the lending; this will allow us to scale way beyond our equity,” Dubugras said, adding that the company has no plans to raise additional equity funding right now: “Especially after this debt raise because now a lot of the capital that was tied up we can get back.”
This year, the company has been putting its boatload of venture capital to work, taking the necessary steps toward maturation. Recently, Brex closed its first notable acquisition, poaching the blockchain startup Elph right out of YC in a deal that closed just one week before Demo Day. The Elph team brings their infrastructure security know-how to Brex, helping the company build its next product, a credit card for large enterprises.
Brex is backed by Y Combinator Continuity, Ribbit Capital, Greenoaks Capital, DST Global, IVP, Peter Thiel and Max Levchin.
Brex, which recently launched a rewards program tailored to startups needs, doesn’t require startups to provide a personal guarantee or security deposit. The company simplifies corporate expenses by providing companies with a consolidated look at their spending and gives entrepreneurs a credit limit that’s as much as 10 times higher than what they might receive elsewhere.
source: TechCrunch
