Rivian closed its latest investment round, as it aims to ramp up production this year.
Add another $2.65 billion to the coffers. While fledgling electric automaker Rivian secured high-profile funding form the likes of Amazon, Ford and others, the company announced Tuesday it had closed another $2.65 billion funding round as it readies its production lines. This year, we should finally see the first two consumer models: the R1S SUV and R1T pickup. Beyond that, Rivian is obligated to build some 100,000 delivery vans for Amazon. That’s set to kick off this year as well, with at least 10,000 examples on the road by 2022.
With two previous funding rounds ($1.3 billion in 2019 and a further $2.5 billion in July 2020), Rivian has raised more than $8 billion in the past two years. That money has gone toward overhauling the Normal, Illinois manufacturing plant formerly owned by Mitsubishi. Rivian has also used it to massively expand its workforce to support full-scale production. This particular capital comes from a group of investors led by T. Rowe Price. Companies including Fidelity Management and Research, Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund, Coatue and D1 Capital Partners join the previous firms infusing cash into Rivian.
Now, it’s on CEO RJ Scaringe and the company’s teams to stick the landing. After the coronavirus pandemic delayed a late 2020 launch, all eyes are on the Tesla challenger to make it happen this year. The Rivian R1S made a giant splash at the 2018 LA Auto Show, and customers are anxiously awaiting their cars as pre-orders rolled in. If the company can successfully launch the R1T by this summer, it will also be the first to earn the coveted accolade as the first high-volume EV truck.
