Earlier than RJ Scaringe based Rivian in 2009, he had micromobility on his thoughts.
Greater than a decade later, his musings took root in a small skunkworks program inside Rivian that got down to reply one query: Might the corporate’s know-how be condensed down into one thing smaller and extra inexpensive than its electrical vans, vans, and SUVs?
The reply was sure. However what in addition they found, Scaringe informed TechCrunch, was that the skunkworks program was an even bigger concept than may naturally exist inside Rivian. That skunkworks — now a staff of about 70 individuals hailing from Apple, Google, Specialised, Tesla, REI Co-Op, and Uber — has spun out of Rivian with a brand new identify and $105 million in funding from Eclipse Ventures.
The startup, referred to as Additionally, will exist as a standalone firm from Rivian. However the two can be intently associated. Rivian holds a minority stake, Scaringe will serve on its board, and Additionally will leverage the automaker’s tech, retail presence, and economies of scale. Chris Yu, Rivian’s VP of future packages, can be its president.
Additionally plans to place its flagship product into manufacturing subsequent yr for customers in america and Europe. The startup will finally launch autos tailor-made for shopper and business use in Asia and South America.
Scaringe mentioned Additionally will exhibit its first automobile designs at an occasion later this yr. However he and the brand new firm are being coy about what that first product can be — although the Rivian CEO did cop to it having a bike-like kind issue.
“There’s a seat, and there’s two wheels, there’s a display screen, and there’s a number of computer systems and a battery,” Scaringe mentioned.
He was clear that the aim is to make Rivian-quality micromobility obtainable at inexpensive costs.
It’s “outstanding {that a} good e-bike prices as a lot because it does,” Scaringe commented. “Like a pleasant ebike, you may spend $6,000 to $8,000 on, and very nice ones, over $10,000; That’s a mirrored image of a poorly developed provide chain that’s very, very, very tiered.”
Additionally’s electrical roots
Scaringe initially set his concepts about e-bikes and micromobility apart as he constructed up an organization round electrical passenger autos just like the R1T pickup truck and R1S SUV.
However round 2019, former Rivian chief development officer Jiten Behl — who spearheaded the funding spherical from Eclipse Ventures — mentioned he and Scaringe began speaking significantly about beginning up an effort inside Rivian to grab that chance.
“There’s a hole right here,” Behl informed TechCrunch he remembered telling Scaringe. “In the event you have a look at our cities, the infrastructure is such which you could’t have giant automobiles driving round. however they nonetheless have mobility wants. We want one thing totally different, one thing smaller, one thing extra versatile.”
A couple of years later in 2022, they introduced on Chris Yu, the previous chief product and know-how officer at bike-maker Specialised to spin up the skunkworks staff.
One of many few publicly obtainable hints that Rivian was engaged on the mission got here in 2022 when the corporate filed a new trademark for bicycles and electrical bikes, in addition to their corresponding structural elements.
Scaringe talked about e-bikes at TechCrunch Disrupt in 2022, and Bloomberg reported in 2023 that Rivian was engaged on one, however the mission remained underneath wraps.
Leveraging Rivian tech
Many firms have tried to design and promote e-bikes that stand out from the gang. However Scaringe mentioned these firms had been restricted of their potential to drive down prices, largely as a result of they’re counting on a scattered provide chain and working at low volumes.
Scaringe mentioned the “a-ha second” for Rivian was when he realized his firm may change these variables. It additionally helps that Rivian is engaged on a number of know-how that is transferable to smaller kind elements.
“Most firms within the micro area don’t have, like, a full energy electronics staff, and don’t have a staff that develops the software program OS, and are designing and constructing computer systems,” he mentioned.
“Oh, wow, we have now all this functionality,” he remembered considering.
Scaringe, Yu, and Behl suppose Additionally has potential not solely as a shopper play, but in addition on the business aspect.
“You could possibly nearly say that the necessity for small kind issue EVs is just a little bit extra acute on the business aspect than the buyer aspect, particularly inside dense metro areas, significantly in Europe [where city centers are] shut right down to automobiles and vans,” Yu mentioned in an interview. “We’ve seen an intense quantity of pleasure round a scalable platform strategy for meals, parcel, supply, et cetera, sort autos.”
Yu mentioned Is also in “fairly superior discussions with some actually thrilling companions for the time being,” however declined to call any of them.
The Additionally staff has their work reduce out for them. They wish to construct small EVs for customers and business firms throughout a worldwide market. And they’re keen to construct just about any kind issue to serve these wants.
Requested whether or not which means we may sooner or later see an Additionally rickshaw, or skateboard, Scaringe mentioned there are some sensible limitations to what the corporate can obtain. However, he mentioned, “by no means say by no means on something” in micromobility.