Fintech startup Brex is hemorrhaging $17 million a month, sparking concerns about future growth

Brex, a fintech startup known for offering corporate credit cards to startups, is facing some challenges. The news comes at a time when startups are struggling to raise funding due to the worsening global economic conditions and high interest rates.

According to a report from The Information, Brex, once considered a standout in the fintech sector during the pandemic, is currently burning through $17 million each month. This has sparked concerns and raised questions about the company’s future growth prospects.

In the fourth quarter, Brex disclosed to its staff during an all-hands meeting that it had been burning an average of approximately $17 million in cash monthly. While the company assured employees in early January that it had enough cash to sustain operations until March 2026, Chief Financial Officer Ben Gammell emphasized the need to continue reducing the cash burn during the meeting.

“Brex, which issues credit cards and manages cash for businesses, burned an average of about $17 million a month in cash in the fourth quarter, the company told staff at an all-hands meeting earlier this month. Brex has enough cash to last through March 2026, according to the data given to employees in early January, although Chief Financial Officer Ben Gammell emphasized to staff at the all-hands meeting that the company had to continue reducing its cash burn,” The Information reported.

A few years back, we highlighted Brex when the fintech startup closed a $125 million Series C funding round aimed at bolstering its corporate credit card features and launching rewards programs. Leading this round were Greenoaks Capital, DST Global, and IVP.

Founded in 2017 by Henrique Dubugras and Pedro Franceschi, both engineers with a background in founding Pagar.me, one of Brazil’s largest payment processors with a GMV exceeding $1.5 billion, Brex has been on a mission to revamp B2B financial products. Their initial focus has been on crafting a corporate credit card tailored for tech companies.

Brex offers startups of all sizes—ranging from freshly established to more mature businesses—an opportunity to swiftly obtain a credit card with limits up to 20 times higher than conventional offerings. Their platform fully automates expense management, eliminates the hassle of receipt tracking, and seamlessly integrates with accounting systems. Notable backers include Y Combinator Continuity, Ribbit Capital, Greenoaks Capital, DST Global, IVP, Peter Thiel, and Max Levchin, with Brex being part of the Y Combinator Winter ’17 batch.

“We started Brex to provide a superior corporate card to startup founders failed by legacy products,” said Henrique Dubugras, co-founder and CEO of Brex. “With this fresh funding, we can enhance our growth efforts and continue to benefit founders and operators, particularly those who are unable or hesitant to personally guarantee their company’s corporate card.”

As the sole non-personally guaranteed small business card available in the market, the Brex corporate card has emerged as a vital component within the toolkit of solutions that empower startups. Since its public launch in June 2018, Brex has been doubling down on core features essential for driving early-stage tech companies toward its offerings, including instant online signup, remarkably higher limits compared to traditional card options, and seamlessly embedded expense and receipt management.