Blog Rivian Brings Total Funding to $8 Billion

Rivian, which is expected to deliver its debut EV this year, announced it has added $2.65 billion to its war chest. The company has attracted $8 billion in investment since 2019.

The financing was led by funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc. and included Fidelity Management and Research Company, Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund, Coatue and D1 Capital Partners, “as well as several other existing and new investors,” Rivian said in a release.

“This is a critical year for us as we are launching the R1T, the R1S and the Amazon commercial delivery vehicles,” Rivian Founder and CEO RJ Scaringe said in a release. “The support and confidence of our investors enables us to remain focused on these launches while simultaneously scaling our business for our next stage of growth.”

Rivian said in November that the Launch Edition of its R1T pickup and R1S sport utility vehicle is sold out. Customers with preorders were given early access to the configurator on November 16. And preorders were strong enough to make the first batch of Rivians unavailable ahead of a general release.

The company said the Launch Edition of R1T pickup will cost $75,000 and the R1S SUV will be priced at $77,500. Both versions will have more than 300 miles of range on a single charge.

 

[uujjj2]

What's Rivian doing with all this funding? At this point in its growth, Tesla had raised around $1B, half of which was a government loan.

 

[MXLRplus]

What's Rivian doing with all this funding? At this point in its growth, Tesla had raised around $1B, half of which was a government loan.

They already have an assy line running producing CTF vehicles for field testing and evaluation, over 3000 employees, and at least 6 facilities in the US and UK.

I believe Rivian is going to release a sorted out EV like you would expect from a major ICE mfr. We will see.

BTW - Their software dev lab is in San Jose.

 

[uujjj2]

BTW - Their software dev lab is in San Jose.

Yep. Rivian is based in Michigan but most of their engineering is in California. Software is based in San Jose, while the battery/powertrain/cooling is done in Irvine.

Whereas Tesla is one of the most geographically concentrated companies in the industry, Rivian has been dispersed over multiple sites from the beginning.

 

[KJD]

Well it looks like no matter how much money you have timelines are still prone to delays. I guess I can wait another month.

Rivian R1S News and Reviews | InsideEVs

Get the latest on new Rivian R1S models including first drives, in-depth reviews, concept car photos, new features, recalls and more.

insideevs.com

 

[uujjj2]

Well it looks like no matter how much money you have timelines are still prone to delays. I guess I can wait another month.

Time for another of Mr. Uujjj's Business Lessons from a Silicon Valley Startup Veteran:

The better funded a company gets, the more likely it is to delay products, not less!

So let me explain. A startup's decision of when to ship a product is a business decision not a technical decision. In a startup company, the processes aren't down pat. The product line is new, often something radically different from the industry norm. The team's experience with the product's ins and outs may be limited. What this means is that the rate at which a startup cleans up flaws in a first gen product can be much slower than the rate for refining an established product line at an established company.

Basically, a startup company cannot afford to wait until a product is perfect. Startups have to ship products that still have a lot of open bugs and incomplete testing. (Early Tesla buyers can confirm!)

How many bugs? Engineers are perfectionists by default. Left to their own devices, an engineering team will tweak and fix and tweak and fix on and on and on. To ship on a reasonable timeframe, management needs to do a lot of yelling and screaming. If a startup is on a tight budget, the pressure on management to collect cash from customers can be intense. A startup low on cash nearing its first product launch will ship beta quality products. (Early Tesla buyers can confirm!) A startup swimming in cash, on the other hand, the management feels a lot more comfortable, and in turn they won't yell as loud at the engineers. So the product is delayed until it is better, because the company can afford it.

(Note that this is only for the first shipment. The funding versus delay curve for high volume ramp can be a lot different!)

 

[mk677]

IMHO rivian is DOA, by the time they are able to start deliveries there will be many lower cost options that will diminish the chance that their expensive truck will sell well.

 

[rhumbliner]

IMHO rivian is DOA, by the time they are able to start deliveries there will be many lower cost options that will diminish the chance that their expensive truck will sell well.

I agree that “DOA” is a little over reactive but their pricing is certainly breathtaking. I’m still on their reservation list for the Explore edition with the 400-mile Max Pack that comes in at $82k ($75k if I can take advantage of the tax rebate) but compared to $70k for the 500-mile Cyber Truck it’s unlikely I’ll actually end up with the Rivian. I understand that the fashion conscious will be will be willing to pay more for a traditional looking truck but when I take into account a new and questionable charging network I find Rivian to be a difficult purchase.

 

[mark95476]

I think Rivian will do alright. They have their niche and don't have to be super profitable immediately. If they have a real product and start delivery in reasonable volumes then one of the big incumbents will buy them out should they stumble.

I get a sense the big OEMs don't have the money and engineering to develop their own BEVs so they'll let start-ups like Rivian do the hard work and hope to swoop in later.

I agree that “DOA” is a little over reactive but their pricing is certainly breathtaking. I’m still on their reservation list for the Explore edition with the 400-mile Max Pack that comes in at $82k ($75k if I can take advantage of the tax rebate) but compared to $70k for the 500-mile Cyber Truck it’s unlikely I’ll actually end up with the Rivian. I understand that the fashion conscious will be will be willing to pay more for a traditional looking truck but when I take into account a new and questionable charging network I find Rivian to be a difficult purchase.

 

[mycroftxxx]

There’s clearly some first-mover advantages in the BEV industry, but the market is huge - eventually every ICE car on the road will be replaced with something like a BEV. If Rivian delivers a solid product, they can definitely compete against Tesla, Ford, GM. If they’re good enough, they may eventually partner with / get absorbed by one of the other players, but I suspect the US market can handle a dozen or so BEV OEMs for quite a while.

(disclaimer: I have a MY, am not in the market for any pickup, large SUV, etc., but any company that could produce a 4-door hot hatch BEV with realistic 300+ mile range can take my money )