Stelrix Completes Angel Round, Prepares Seed Funding to Launch Portfolio‑Backed Credit Card

Stelrix, the New York-based fintech startup building what it says is the first real-time secured credit card backed by investment portfolios, is moving toward a larger seed funding effort after completing a fully funded angel round to scale its platform. The company’s innovative financial product aims to democratize access to portfolio-backed liquidity for everyday investors by allowing users to spend against their existing brokerage holdings without selling assets or assuming traditional margin risk.

Founded in 2025 by 21-year-old entrepreneur Colin Sahagun, Stelrix has set out to rethink consumer credit by replacing legacy borrowing systems with a product that continuously assesses a user’s brokerage portfolio and adjusts credit limits in real time based on current market value and risk. Rather than operating as a traditional credit card dependent on credit scores or debt accumulation, Stelrix’s offering taps into a user’s investment portfolio to provide adaptive access to capital that evolves with market conditions.

The company, which describes its product as an investment-backed spending card rather than a conventional credit card, has already assembled a network of industry partners and strategic supporters that helped validate the startup’s vision and technology during its early stages. Among those backing the company during its angel phase are key infrastructure partners and financial institutions that bring credibility and technical support to Stelrix’s operations. These include HSBC, which through its innovation banking unit has voiced support for the startup’s mission of extending smarter, more flexible financial tools to retail investors, and Lithic, the fintech platform powering the underlying card issuing infrastructure.

In addition to these partners, Stelrix has drawn backing from other members of its early support ecosystem, such as SightSpan, which helps ensure its compliance and risk frameworks are strong as the company grows, and Manatt, CompoSecure, and IC Payments, which contribute to the fintech-to-banking infrastructure needed for a secure and scalable product rollout. Together, these angel investors and strategic supporters laid the groundwork for Stelrix’s forthcoming seed round by validating the startup’s unique approach and helping it navigate the complexities of regulated financial products.

Stelrix’s leadership argues that traditional portfolio-backed lending products have long been confined to high-net-worth investors or institutional clients with six-figure minimums and extended approval timelines. By contrast, its platform continuously monitors a user’s brokerage holdings and recalculates credit availability at the point of sale, allowing investors to tap into liquidity instantly without triggering taxable events or selling assets. This dynamic, real-time model is designed to provide transparency and stability, even in volatile markets, while maintaining a premium user experience.

The startup’s announcement of its product launch also noted that the company planned to open beta testing of the card in the first quarter of 2026, followed by a broader commercial rollout in the second quarter. Initially, the platform will support U.S. equities portfolios, with future plans to expand eligibility to other asset classes such as cryptocurrency holdings, real estate, and collectibles, reflecting the team’s ambition to broaden the appeal and accessibility of investment-backed credit products.

While the amount raised in Stelrix’s angel round has not been publicly disclosed, completing a fully funded early stage financing is an important milestone that positions the company to approach institutional investors and venture firms for its upcoming seed raise. Founders and early supporters believe that with the right capital infusion, Stelrix can accelerate hiring, deepen its regulatory and compliance infrastructure, and refine the risk-assessment algorithms that underpin its real-time portfolio analysis engine.

CEO Colin Sahagun has framed Stelrix’s product not just as a new type of card, but as a reimagining of how everyday investors access credit and liquidity. By combining high-touch underwriting with real-time risk evaluation and transparent pricing, the company aims to challenge the entrenched systems that have historically limited access to portfolio-based capital.

As Stelrix enters its next funding chapter, the company is poised to make its case to seed investors by touting both its technological innovation and the strength of its early strategic backers. The combination of financial infrastructure partners and angel supporters gives the startup a strong foundation from which to grow, even as it navigates the competitive and highly regulated world of consumer finance.

With its beta program on the horizon and a seed round in the works, Stelrix is advancing toward its goal of making advanced, portfolio-backed financial tools broadly accessible, bridging the gap between wealth accumulation and everyday liquidity.