Ford-Backed Rivian Files For IPO, Hopes For $80 Billion Valuation

August 27, 2021 9:05 am

Back in February, Ford Authority reported that Ford-backed upstart EV automaker Rivian was considering going public as soon as September of this year with a $50 billion dollar valuation. In May, that target rose considerably, to $70 billion, which would make Rivian’s IPO one of the largest of the year and one of the most notable EV listings since its primary competitor, Tesla, went public back in 2010. However, Rivian has officially filed its initial public offering and is now seeking an even higher valuation of $80 billion, according to Bloomberg.

An $80 billion market cap would make the automaker’s debut one of the biggest in 2021, though the timing for such a move hasn’t been finalized just yet. Rivian has submitted its S-1 registration to the Securities and Exchange Commission and is reportedly eyeing November 25^th as its target date for the IPO, but that hinges entirely on SEC approval.

As Ford Authority reported last month, Ford invested an additional $902 million into the automaker in Q1, which is just the latest infusion of cash made since FoMoCo’s initial $500 million dollar investment back in 2019. Rivian has raised a grand total of $10.5 billion from a number of other companies, including Amazon, through multiple fundraising rounds.

CEO R.J. Scaringe recently said that this money will allow the automaker to “scale new vehicle programs, expand our domestic facility footprint, and fuel international product rollout.” Rivian is reportedly eyeing Fort Worth, Texas as a possible location for its second U.S.-based plant, as well as the city of Bristol in the UK for a potential third location.

Following a series of delays, Rivian’s first model – the R1T pickup – is scheduled to begin production in September, with the R1S SUV following sometime this fall. Meanwhile, Ford’s initial investment into the EV automaker was supposed to spawn a Lincoln SUV built on the R1S and R1T’s Skateboard platform, but Ford canceled that project last year amid the COVID-19 pandemic. However, as Ford Authority exclusively reported last October, the relationship between the two companies is still “going great,” and a Ford EV riding on that same platform is currently in development.

We’ll have more on Rivian’s IPO soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for more Rivian news and around-the-clock Ford news coverage.

By Brett Foote

Brett's lost track of all the Fords he's owned over the years and how much he's spent modifying them, but his current money pits include an S550 Mustang and 13th gen F-150.