American electric car startup Rivian has raised $ 2.5 billion in private investment. Since its inception, the company has raised about $ 10.5 billion, writes TechCrunch.
The private funding round was led by Amazon, Ford Motor, D1 Capital Partners and funds advised by T. Rowe Price. Also participating in the round were Third Point, Fidelity Management and Research Company, Dragoneer Investment Group and Coatue.
According to financial analysts, the Rivian startup is worth $ 27.6 billion today. Investor funds should help Rivian scale up its new vehicle programs, expand its manufacturing coverage and drive global distribution, said CEO RJ Scaridge.
D1 Capital Partners founder Dan Sundheim said the investment in Rivian was motivated by the fact that the company has reached a turning point in commercialization and will have exclusive products for customers.
Investor interest in Rivian is so much related to the fact that the startup can claim the role of "the next Tesla", The New York Times notes.
Rivian was founded by American engineer Robert Joseph Scaridge, or RJ Scaridge for short, in 2009. It was originally planned to launch the car with industry-leading fuel efficiency in 2013-2014. However, with the popularization of electric vehicles, the company refocused on them.
In 2018, Rivian introduced its first two electric vehicles - the Rivian R1T pickup truck with a range of 500 to 650 km and the Rivian R1S SUV with a range of 500 km. Their entry to the market has already been pushed through various technological difficulties several times.
Recently, the company has once again postponed deliveries of R1T and R1S from summer to September due to production delays caused by a shortage of semiconductor chips. Rivian currently employs 7,000 people and plans to open a second factory in the United States.
Rivian is also developing electric trucks for Amazon, which is hoping to renew its fleet as part of a plan to tackle climate change. According to the plan, the company is committed to using only renewable energy sources starting in 2030. So Amazon ordered over 100,000 electric delivery vans from Rivian in 2019.
