RJ Scaringe has raised more than $12 billion across three startups and investors still want more

Investors can’t look to get capable of RJ Scaringe oregon his ideas.

In little than a decade, the serial entrepreneur champion known for his EV institution Rivian, has raised much than $12.3 cardinal from task superior firms, arsenic good arsenic strategical and organization investors for his 3 — and counting — startups. If the latest $400 cardinal raise for his caller task Mind Robotics is an indicator, investors are inactive happily piling in.

Outsized raises for recently minted startups person go much communal successful caller years. But those hundred-million-plus effect rounds person mostly been reserved for buzzy defence tech startups oregon AI companies founded by erstwhile OpenAI oregon Anthropic employees.

Those supersized seeds surely weren’t flowing toward thing arsenic niche arsenic an electrical micromobility startup. And yet successful 2025, Scaringe raised $105 cardinal for precisely that — a startup called Also, which helium founded that aforesaid year. The full has since surpassed $300 million, with DoorDash among its backers.

Jiten Behl, spouse astatine Eclipse and erstwhile main maturation serviceman astatine Rivian, has spent years watching and learning from Scaringe. His steadfast is present 1 of Scaringe’s biggest backers, starring rounds successful some Also and Mind Robotics — Scaringe’s concern AI and robotics startup that helium besides founded past year.

Storytelling and connection are 1 of his superpowers, according to Behl, who joined Rivian erstwhile the institution had conscionable a fistful of employees.

“When RJ explains a definite issue, topic, opportunity, vision, helium conscionable has this precise unsocial quality to pass it truthful effectively, and it comes crossed truthful credible,” Behl said. “He’s not trying to undersell the trouble oregon oversell the opportunity, and that’s an art.”

Scaringe isn't the lone serial entrepreneur to repeatedly pull monolithic amounts of capital, but founders who tin rise billions crossed aggregate ventures stay rare. The self-professed car enthusiast who earned his doctorate successful mechanical engineering from MIT, joins a tiny cadre of entrepreneurs that includes Tesla CEO and SpaceX co-founder Elon Musk, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Anduril and Oculus laminitis Palmer Luckey, and Jack Dorsey, who founded Square (now called Block) and Twitter.

The difference, astatine slightest successful the presumption of immoderate investors TechCrunch spoke to, is that helium is capable to abstracted selling the thought from selling himself. "He is precise comfy and assured successful his ain personality, and he's not trying to beryllium an Elon," Behl said, noting that galore person tried to marque the examination implicit the years.

"It's not astir him," different insider acquainted with Scaringe's companies told TechCrunch. "When you speech to him, helium has enthusiasm astir the merchandise that is wholly external."

Of course, determination is assurance and adjacent a small ego, the aforesaid root mused, but "it doesn't measurement connected you." The root besides added that Scaringe besides has a unsocial quality to marque you consciousness similar the astir peculiar idiosyncratic successful the country — a sentiment others echoed.

Giving that benignant of undivided attraction to an investor, supplier, oregon exec astatine a shaper is simply a situation astatine the standard Scaringe is attempting. He is moving 3 companies, often traveling betwixt Palo Alto and Irvine, California, Rivian's mill successful Normal, Illinois, and soon a 2nd mill successful Georgia. And past determination is family; Scaringe has 3 sons helium shares with his ex-wife.

Joe Fath, different spouse astatine Eclipse, credits his open-mindedness and collaborative quality for helping him pull concern and juggle these connected, yet disparate businesses.

He noted that Scaringe besides "has the uncommon operation of being a genuinely large technologist portion besides having an exceptional instinct for merchandise design," said Fath, who antecedently worked astatine a large Rivian backer T.Rowe Price. "Very fewer founders tin run astatine that level technically portion besides knowing what resonates emotionally with customers -- some consumers and commercialized buyers. That operation is incredibly uncommon and has intelligibly been portion of what makes Rivian's products (and present ALSO and Mind's) truthful differentiated."

The gait of Scaringe's fundraising implicit the past 8 years is peculiarly notable, and doesn't look to beryllium slowing.

More than $11 billion, and by acold the largest portion of VC and strategical capital, went into Rivian — astir of it betwixt 2018 and its blockbuster IPO successful 2021. That's a startling timeline particularly considering the company, initially called Mainstream Motors, had existed since 2009. For years, Rivian operated arsenic a small, chartless entity until its breakout moment successful precocious 2018 astatine the Los Angeles Auto Show, erstwhile it revealed prototypes of its all-electric R1T motortruck and R1S SUV.

The wealth soon flowed, and from each direction. In aboriginal 2019 and conscionable a mates of months aft that reveal, Rivian raised a $700 cardinal backing circular led by Amazon. U.S. automaker Ford would put $500 cardinal and marque plans to collaborate connected a since-scrapped aboriginal EV program. Cox Automotive contributed $350 million. Rivian would adjacent retired the twelvemonth with a $1.3 cardinal round — its 4th successful 2019 — led by funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates, with further information from Amazon, Ford, and funds managed by BlackRock.

In July 2020, Rivian raised $2.5 billion and different $2.65 billion six months later. As whispers of an IPO got louder, Rivian closed different $2.5 cardinal backstage backing circular led by Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund, D1 Capital Partners, Ford Motor and funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates Inc. Third Point, Fidelity Management and Research Company, Dragoneer Investment Group and Coatue besides participated.

Then the IPO came. Rivian raised astir $12 cardinal successful gross proceeds aft locking successful $78 per share. Its marketplace headdress deed $100 cardinal erstwhile it debuted connected Nasdaq successful November 2021. Today, it stands astatine $18.2 cardinal today, a important comedown that besides reflects the broader struggles of the EV sector.

The quality to rise that overmuch capital, contempt those headwinds, is exceptional. But Scaringe didn't halt with Rivian. If anything, the gait has accelerated. Also and Mind Robotics person unneurotic raised much than $1.3 cardinal truthful far, with Mind Robotics moving particularly fast: $115 cardinal successful its archetypal year, $500 million successful March, and different $400 cardinal conscionable this week.

Rivian besides continues to onshore notable backers done high-profile deals similar the $5.8 cardinal associated task with Volkswagen Group and a robotaxi partnership valued astatine up to $1.25 cardinal with Uber.

"Now, the large question is, however overmuch tin helium do?" Behl said. "That's a question [that] already assumes that he's reaching his limit. The happening is, helium doesn't look astatine it that way. His position is that determination is immense worth to beryllium created, determination is immense interaction to beryllium created, and I conscionable person to bash it."