Ramping up to electric trucks, Rivian has raised $5.3B since early 2019Ramping up to electric trucks, Rivian has raised $5.3B since early 2019

EV firm Rivian hasn’t delivered a single vehicle yet, but the company has raised roughly $5.3 billion since early 2019.
Rivian said Friday that it had just closed a $2.5 billion funding round, its first of 2020. The financing was led by funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc., a Rivian press release said.
The latest funding round follows a series of investments throughout 2019, starting with a $700 million funding round led by Amazon in February of that year. Rivian later signed a deal to build 100,000 electric delivery vans for Amazon.
Of all the investments last year, Rivian’s deal with Amazon was the one that helped make the company’s future look more certain.
In April 2019, Ford announced a $500 million investment and plans to use Rivian’s “skateboard” EV platform for a future model.
Rivian R1S
Ford subsequently announced that Rivian would build an EV for its Lincoln luxury division. That project was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic, but Rivian and Ford may still partner on a new project that hasn’t been announced.
Rivian’s last funding round closed in December 2019. Also led by T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc., it raised $1.3 billion and included further contributions from Amazon and Ford.
Rivian has been around for more than 10 years, and started out with plans to develop an electric luxury coupe. The company has been developing its first electric truck platform for the past seven years.
The Rivian R1T pickup truck and R1S SUV were due to be produced starting late this year at a former Mitsubishi factory in Normal, Illinois, but the company has already said there will be some delay due to the coronavirus crisis.
Last month, news also emerged that the company was moving its development teams to California, rather than continuing to split that workforce between California and Michigan.

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