Creating a new auto company is remarkably capital-intensive, so electric vehicle maker Rivian is bent on accumulating a mountain of cash, ending 2019 with a massive $1.3 billion funding round that includes additional investment from backers Amazon and Ford.
Rivian, which plans to start building its battery-powered pickup trucks and SUVs beginning in late 2020, said the latest fundraising was led by T. Rowe Price and included BlackRock, Amazon and Ford, without providing additional details. It’s the fourth funding announcement in 2019 from the company, which appears to have raised more than $3 billion since emerging from stealth mode in 2018.
Previous funding rounds this year totaled $1.5 billion, including $700 million from Amazon, $500 million from Ford and $350 from Cox Automotive. It also raised $450 million in 2018, with backing from Saudi Arabia-based investment group Abdul Latif Jameel, Sumitomo Corp. and London’s Standard Chartered Bank.
The latest round doesn’t include new board seats and Rivian declined to provide a cumulative funding total since its founding.
