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built,” Scaringe says. “And we spent a lot of time
understanding the risks associated with how to
build and scale a business, and the working cap-
ital that’s [required].” Over the past 13 months,
he and his team have raised $2.85 billion to fund
Rivian’s future. First Amazon (and others) in-
vested $700 million in February 2019. Then
Ford ponied up $500 million two months later.
Cox Automotive, whose brands include Auto-
trader and Kelley Blue Book, came through with
another $350 million in September. And if that
weren’t enough to turbocharge Scaringe’s out-
sized ambitions, just before Christmas Eve,
money management behemoth T. Rowe Price
led yet another investment round worth more
than $1.3 billion.
That early infusion of capital—on top of in-
vestments of nearly $500 million, including from
JIMCO, the investment arm of
Abdul Latif Jameel, a Saudi
corporation that has bet big on
energy and mobility—has giv-
en Rivian a valuation just north
of $5.5 billion. Scaringe is es-
timated to own slightly more
than 20 percent of the compa-
ny, making him the latest auto-
motive billionaire. The funding
has also allowed Scaringe to
nearly triple the size of Rivian’s
workforce, from around 700 in
2018 to more than 2,000 today,
which is how he can scale pro-
duction this year.
The question is: Even with
$3 billion, does Rivian have
enough to realize Scaringe’s
electric dreams?
Until now, it’s been a far
smoother road than the one
Musk faced with his first vehi-
cle. Tesla raised around $100
million between 2003 and
2008 to produce the Roadster,
which was soon abandoned in
favor of the Model S, and the
Model S required more than
$350 million in funding (including a 2010 IPO
that valued the company at $1.7 billion). The jour-
ney of the Model 3 was particularly rocky. Supply-
chain issues and Musk’s desire to completely dis-
rupt the manufacturing process led to a two year–
plus delay delivering cars to customers and a slew
of quality-control issues. The fallout from these
problems reportedly cost the EV maker hundreds
of millions of dollars. (Tesla did not respond to
multiple requests for comment.) The company
then took on estimated billions in debt as it scaled
its production for the mass market.
So if the mighty Tesla has faced so many detours
and potholes, what makes Scaringe think that
Rivian, which hasn’t made a single car, can have a
smooth ride? He doesn’t. “Things will go wrong,”
admits the young CEO. And Scaringe, who comes
across like a mild-mannered Clark Kent type com-
MARCH 20 20
Ride and Seek
Rivian’s adventure
SUV can
accommodate
seven people, but
the company has
also filed for a patent
to adapt a seat for
first responders.
2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
Name changed
to Rivian
Automotive.
Raises $1 billion–
plus in debt
and more than
$5 billion
over the next
five years.
Research
operations begin
in Michigan;
California
follows in 2016.
Acquires
former
Mitsubishi
plant in
Normal, Illinois,
for $16 million.
Raises
$200 million
in funding
from Standard
Chartered
Bank; reveals
first vehicles,
R 1 T pickup
and R 1 S SUV.
Secures
$2.9 billion from
Amazon, Cox,
Ford and
T. Rowe Price.
Model Y
debuts.
Market cap
reaches $ 100
billion; Tesla
becomes the
most valuable
U.S. automaker.
Model X
introduced.
Model 3
launches; orders
top $ 7 .5 billion
in 2 4 hours.