Electric vehicle start-up Rivian, which is backed by Amazon and Ford Motor and aims to put an electric pickup and SUV in production in 2021, boosted its war chest further with a $2.5bn (roughly R42.1bn) investment round led by T Rowe Price, Rivian said Friday.
The deal comes on the heels of electric car maker Tesla's meteoric rise in valuation and the recent public offering of Nikola Corp. Both Tesla and Nikola are planning electric pickups to rival Rivian.
The new round takes total investment in Rivian to at least $6bn (about R100.95bn), including a $1.3bn (roughly R21.87bn) round in December led by T Rowe Price and including Amazon, Ford and BlackRock, according to investor website Pitchbook.
Rivian's latest fundraising was joined by Soros Fund Management, Coatue Management, Fidelity Management and Research Company, and Baron Capital Group. Amazon and BlackRock also participated.
