Navigating a technology boom, Rivian seems poised to go public at a valuations that will surely make it a ‘unicorn’. The company, which makes electric two-wheelers, is valued at $2.5 billion, and recently raised a $43 million Series B investment round.
But that valuation isn’t exactly a sure thing. To raise the money it needs to finance its R&D, the company’s found itself pitching to investors like hedge funds, private equity firms and pension funds. It’s hoping to raise between $750 million and $1 billion.
CEO Scott Becker says Rivian’s is not raising funds to accommodate its growth. “We’re approaching it as a first step, and a way to bring in a large institution that will help us manage our way through the first year and second year of bringing to market what will probably be a commercially available product in mid to late 2020,” Becker said in an interview.
But the company has a lot of competitors in the two-wheel electric car market. That’s why its meeting with the four big Wall Street banks to find out what investors are willing to pay Rivian right now may not end well.
(By the way, you probably heard Rivian recently trademarked the word ‘unicorn’ — shorthand for a tech company valued at over $1 billion — in hopes of giving investors a reference point when it comes to setting that valuation.)