Abstract Monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDC) combine huge oscillator strength with naturally terminated surfaces, enabling optoelectronic devices on various platforms. Despite numerous efforts to integrate 2D materials in light-emitting devices, a scalable direct current (DC) driven near-infrared 2D material-based (NIR) emitter has not been reported yet. In this work, a large-area, DC-operated NIR light-emitting device based on WSe 2 monolayers grown by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) is presented. Our scalable device architecture enables a diode-like I–V curve with a rectifying ratio exceeding 20 and a turn-on voltage of ~1.5 V, indicating excellent electrical performance. NIR electroluminescence at 778 nm is observed at 1.5 V, along with a radiance of ~2 µW cm −2 sr −1 at 5 V under DC operation.