Page 89 - Forbes - USA (March 2020)

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- 87
motive billionaire. The funding
has also allowed Scaringe to
nearly triple the size of Rivian’s T
H
workforce, from around 700 in E

2018 to more than 2,000 today, P
R
which is how he can scale pro- O
F
duction this year. I
L
The question is: Even with E

•
$3 billion, does Rivian have
R
enough to realize Scaringe’s .
J
.
electric dreams?
S
Until now, it’s been a far C
A
smoother road than the one R
I
Musk faced with his first vehi- N
cle. Tesla raised around $100 G
E
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
Ride and Seek built,” Scaringe says. “And we spent a lot of time $350 million in funding (including a 2010 IPO
Rivian’s adventure understanding the risks associated with how to that valued the company at $1.7 billion). The jour-
SUV can
accommodate build and scale a business, and the working cap- ney of the Model 3 was particularly rocky. Supply-
seven people, but ital that’s [required].” Over the past 13 months, chain issues and Musk’s desire to completely dis-
the company has
also filed for a patent he and his team have raised $2.85 billion to fund rupt the manufacturing process led to a two year–
to adapt a seat for Rivian’s future. First Amazon (and others) in- plus delay delivering cars to customers and a slew
first responders.
vested $700 million in February 2019. Then of quality-control issues. The fallout from these
Ford ponied up $500 million two months later. problems reportedly cost the EV maker hundreds
Cox Automotive, whose brands include Auto- of millions of dollars. (Tesla did not respond to
trader and Kelley Blue Book, came through with multiple requests for comment.) The company
another $350 million in September. And if that then took on estimated billions in debt as it scaled
weren’t enough to turbocharge Scaringe’s out- its production for the mass market.
sized ambitions, just before Christmas Eve, So if the mighty Tesla has faced so many detours
money management behemoth T. Rowe Price and potholes, what makes Scaringe think that
led yet another investment round worth more Rivian, which hasn’t made a single car, can have a
than $1.3 billion. smooth ride? He doesn’t. “Things will go wrong,”
That early infusion of capital—on top of in- admits the young CEO. And Scaringe, who comes
vestments of nearly $500 million, including from across like a mild-mannered Clark Kent type com-

2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

Raises $1 billion– Market cap
plus in debt Model 3 reaches $100
Model X and more than launches; orders Model Y billion; Tesla
introduced. $5 billion top $7.5 billion debuts. becomes the
over the next in 24 hours. most valuable
five years. Raises U.S. automaker.
Acquires $200 million
Research former in funding Secures
Name changed operations begin Mitsubishi from Standard $2.9 billion from
to Rivian in Michigan; plant in Chartered Amazon, Cox,
Automotive. California Normal, Illinois, Bank; reveals Ford and
follows in 2016. for $16 million. first vehicles, T. Rowe Price.
R1T pickup
and R1S SUV.
M A R C H 2 0 2 0 F O R B E S . C O M