Brex Launches $150 Million Venture Debt Business

Brex co-CEO Henrique Dubugras has had little trouble raising funding for his $7.4 billion valuation startup, which offers other startups high-limit charge cards. But he said he wishes he hadn’t given so much of his company’s stock to venture capitalists. Instead, he could have raised more money in the form of venture debt, loans designed for VC-backed companies that are typically three years in duration.

That’s one reason Brex is launching a venture debt business, Dubugras said in an interview. To back the expansion, called Brex Venture Debt, the company has raised a new $150 million fund, which hasn’t previously been reported, and began making its first loans to other startups earlier this month amid an unprecedented boom in venture debt financing. The startup is the largest investor in the fund, according to a person with direct knowledge.