Electric vehicle startup 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 $2.5-billion investment round led by T. Rowe Price, Rivian said Friday, Trend reports with reference to Reuters.
The deal comes on the heels of electric car maker Tesla’s meteoric rise in valuation and the recent public offering of Nikola Corp NKLA.O. Both Tesla and Nikola are planning electric pickups to rival Rivian.
The new round takes total investment in Rivian to at least $6 billion, including a $1.3 billion round in December led by T. Rowe Price and including Amazon, Ford and BlackRock, according to investor website Pitchbook.