❯ Rivian Spinoff Also Raises $150M Series D, $455M Total in Two Years

NEW ROUNDAccording to TechCrunch, Also, the autonomous-driving company spun out of Rivian, has closed a $150 million Series D round led by Prysm Capital, with Eclipse, Greenoaks, and MVP Ventures participating. It comes just five months after the company’s previous $200 million round announced in March.

E-BIKE ENTRYFounded less than two years ago, Also has raised a total of $455 million. It only spun out of Rivian last year, starting with pedal-assist e-bikes and commercial cargo four-wheelers; according to reports, the March round was led by Greenoaks at a $1 billion valuation and also included a strategic investment from DoorDash plus a multi-year agreement to jointly develop autonomous delivery vehicles. The company says the new capital will speed up autonomous-driving R&D and push forward multiple autonomous vehicle form factors in parallel.

BETThe bet: low-speed small vehicles like urban delivery are better suited than passenger cars to close the commercial loop first, given lower regulatory barriers, slower speeds, and fewer consequences for failures—and there is ready-made demand from companies like DoorDash. Also’s valuation curve therefore offers a reference point for peers in the same lane: using e-bikes as a wedge to enter cities makes it easier to raise money than jumping straight into robotaxis.

▪ SIGNALThe first autonomous-driving form to achieve a commercial closed loop is likely to be two wheels delivering takeout.