Electric truck startup Rivian Automotive, which is backed by Amazon, is near to a new funding round which would value it at $25 billion, Bloomberg reports.
That funding isn’t final, though, and might change.
Amazon, T. Rowe Price Group Inc., BlackRock Inc., Soros Fund Management, Coatue, Fidelity Investments and Baron Capital Group are among the company’s existing investors, Bloomberg writes.
Currently the company is working on two battery-electric consumer cars designed to handle off-road terrain, including the electric pickup R1T, which the company says can drive over 300 miles on one charge and tow up to 11,000 pounds, and the R1S, which is a sport utility vehicle built on the same platform, Bloomberg writes.
A Rivian representative told Bloomberg that the company was “focused on delivering the R1T, R1S, and Amazon delivery vehicles in 2021. We often speak to investors, and we have no announcement to make at this time.”
Deliveries of the company’s first batch of pickups, which the company said are sold out, are due to start by June, Bloomberg writes, and if Rivian sticks to that timeline then it may end up being the first company to bring a battery electric pickup to the U.S. market, which is one of the most highly coveted new types of vehicles.
The R1T will see competition coming from other automakers, both new and established. The vehicle is aiming for an untested market, though, according to Bloomberg. Pickups are often bestsellers in the U.S., though it’s unclear how much demand exists for battery-powered ones.
PYMNTS reports that Rivian is looking to add Alexa capability to its vehicles as of early 2020. The company was looking to add the feature to the 100,000 delivery trucks Amazon ordered. The features were set to include navigation, phone calls, music, climate control and car commands such as opening or closing doors.
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