Rivian lands $2.5 billion in funding to bring electric pickup trucks and delivery vans to market

Over the past few months, Tesla has been making the headlines after the electric car giant’s valuation rose more than 100 percent to over $0.25 trillion in just 6 months. Now, electric truck startup Rivian is looking to ride the electric car waves with new funding announcement. We first wrote about Rivian in 2018 after the Plymouth, Michigan-based startup emerged from stealth mode with $500,000 million in funding.

Today, Rivian announced it has closed $2.5 billion investment round to bring electric pickup trucks and delivery vans to market. The investment, which is Rivian’s first in 2020, was led by T. Rowe Price, with participation from Soros Fund Management LLC, Coatue, Fidelity Management and Research Company, and Baron Capital Group. Existing shareholders Amazon and funds managed by BlackRock also participated. The financing brings total funding to date for the 11-year-old company to around $4.6 billion.

Founded in 2009 by Robert J. Scaringe, Rivian is the world’s first electric adventure vehicles. The company is developing vehicles, technology and services that inspire people to get out and explore the world. Rivian is an automotive technology company that develops products and services to advance the shift to sustainable mobility.

“We are excited to continue this journey with Rivian’s innovative and talented team as they now prepare to deliver their groundbreaking products that help shift to a carbon-neutral planet,” said Joe Fath, portfolio manager of T. Rowe Price Growth Stock Fund.

With a team of more than 750 people, Rivian has development centers in Plymouth, Mich.; San Jose, Calif.; Irvine, Calif; and Surrey, England; along with a 2.6-million-square-foot manufacturing plant in Normal, Illinois. Rivian plans to launch its R1T pickup truck and R1S sport utility in the U.S. in 2020, and begin introducing them overseas in 2021. Rivian is now accepting preorders on its R1T and R1S.

“We are focused on the launch of our R1T, R1S and Amazon delivery vehicles. With all three launches occurring in 2021, our teams are working hard to ensure our vehicles, supply chain and production systems are ready for a robust production ramp up. We are grateful for the strong investor support that helps enable us to focus on execution of our products,” said Rivian Founder and CEO RJ Scaringe.