| Topic | Current information |
|---|
| Company | Brex |
| Founded | 2017 |
| Founders | Pedro Franceschi and Henrique Dubugras |
| CEO | Pedro Franceschi |
| Industry | Financial technology / business finance software |
| Main products | Corporate cards, expense management, business accounts, bill pay, travel, reimbursements and finance automation |
| Current owner | Capital One |
| Capital One acquisition completed | April 7, 2026 |
| Customers | More than 35,000 companies, according to Brex |
| Card type | Business charge card |
| Official banking status | Brex is a fintech company, not a bank |
| Primary audience | Startups, growing companies, mid-market businesses and enterprises |
Brex says more than 35,000 companies currently use its platform. Its product has moved well beyond a standalone card: finance teams can now manage cards, budgets, expenses, vendor payments, travel and certain business-account functions from the same ecosystem.
What Is Brex?
Brex is a fintech company that combines business financial products with software used by finance teams.
The simplest way to understand Brex is to separate it into two layers. The first is financial infrastructure: corporate cards, business-account services and payments. The second is software: spend controls, expense policies, approvals, accounting automation, reimbursements, reporting and travel management.
That combination is why Brex is often compared with both traditional business card issuers and newer spend-management companies such as Ramp.
Brex is not a conventional consumer credit card company and is not designed for individuals. Its products are aimed at incorporated businesses that meet Brex's eligibility and underwriting requirements.
What Does Brex Do for Businesses?
Brex helps companies control how business money is spent before, during and after a transaction.
A finance team can issue physical or virtual cards, assign spending limits, restrict purchases by merchant or category, set approval policies, collect receipts, reimburse employees, pay invoices, manage business travel and send transaction data to accounting systems.
The practical difference between this model and a traditional corporate card is that the card is only one part of the system. Spending rules and accounting information can be attached to the transaction itself instead of being handled later through a separate expense-report process.
Brex's current expense-management product uses automated policies, spend limits, receipt collection and AI-assisted categorization to reduce manual expense work.
Brex Inc., Its Founders and Company History
Brex was founded in 2017 by Pedro Franceschi and Henrique Dubugras. Before Brex, the two founders had built Brazilian payments company Pagar.me.
Brex initially became known for offering corporate cards to venture-backed startups that often struggled to obtain suitable limits from traditional issuers. Over time, the company expanded into expense management, business accounts, bill pay, travel and broader financial software.
Pedro Franceschi currently serves as CEO. Capital One confirmed when the Brex acquisition closed that Franceschi would continue leading the business.
Brex Valuation, Stock and IPO Status
Brex's valuation has changed significantly during its history.
In 2022, an employee liquidity transaction valued Brex at approximately $12.3 billion. That figure reflected a private-company valuation during a period when technology and fintech valuations were considerably higher.
In January 2026, Capital One announced its agreement to acquire Brex in a stock-and-cash transaction valued at $5.15 billion at announcement. When Capital One later reported the completed transaction for accounting purposes, it recorded approximately $4.52 billion in purchase consideration, consisting of about $2.63 billion in cash and $1.89 billion in Capital One stock. These numbers describe different stages and accounting measurements of the transaction, so they should not be treated as contradictory valuations.
There is no standalone publicly traded Brex stock today. Brex became part of Capital One following the completed acquisition. Capital One itself trades on the New York Stock Exchange under ticker COF.
For the same reason, searches for a future Brex IPO now have a different answer than they did when Brex was independent. Brex is no longer a standalone private company preparing independently for a public listing. Any future change to that ownership structure would depend on Capital One and should not be assumed without an official announcement.