E-commerce group Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund and automotive manufacturer Ford Motor Company co-led a $2.5bn funding round for US-based electric truck developer Rivian on Friday.
The round was also co-led with investment firm D1 Capital Partners and funds and accounts advised by T Rowe Price, and included Third Point, Fidelity, Dragoneer Investment Group and Coatue Management.
FoRivian is about to begin production on a range of electric trucks that will include an electric pick-up truck dubbed the R1T as well as the R1S, an all-terrain electric sports utility vehicle. Its vehicles are also set to be supplied to Amazon to serve as their last-mile delivery vans.
RJ Scaringe, chief executive of Rivian, said: “This infusion of funds from trusted partners allows Rivian to scale new vehicle programmes, expand our domestic facility footprint and fuel international product rollout.”
The company has raised $10.5bn over the last three years. Six months ago, it received $2.65bn in a round led by funds and accounts advised by T Rowe Price that also featured Amazon Climate Pledge Fund, Fidelity, Coatue Management, D1 Capital Partners and unspecified new and existing backers at a reported $27.6bn valuation.
Funds and accounts advised by T Rowe Price had led a $2.5bn round for Rivian in July 2020 that included Amazon, Fidelity, Soros Fund Management, Coatue, Baron Capital Group and funds managed by BlackRock.
The company had secured $1.3bn in a funding round in December 2019 led by funds and accounts advised by T Rowe Price with additional investments from Amazon, Ford Motor Company and funds managed by BlackRock.
Media and automotive group Cox Enterprises’ Cox Automotive subsidiary supplied $350m for Rivian in September 2019 in exchange for a 10% stake, following a $500m investment deal agreed by Ford Motor Company five months earlier.
Rivian had already collected $700m in a February 2019 round led by Amazon and backed by unnamed investors that may have included diversified conglomerates Sumitomo and Abdul Latif Jameel.
Sumitomo made a strategic investment of undisclosed size in Rivian in 2017, while Abdul Latif Jameel has also been confirmed as an early backer.