Amazon-backed electric pickup maker Rivian rolls out IPO

Rivian Automotive Inc., the maker of electric pickups backed by Amazon.com Inc., disclosed a nearly US$1 billion net loss in the first half of the year in its initial public offering paperwork Friday.

Rivian Automotive Inc., the maker of electric pickups backed by Amazon.com Inc., disclosed a nearly US$1 billion net loss in the first half of the year in its initial public offering paperwork Friday.

The Irvine, California-based startup in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission listed the size of the offering as US$100 million, a placeholder that will change when terms of the share sale are set.

Rivian was seeking to be valued at about US$80 billion in a listing, Bloomberg News reported in August when the company announced that it had filed confidentially for an IPO.

The company’s IPO plans come as electric vehicle makers are scaling up, angling for a bigger slice of the growing market. With US$10.5 billion raised from backers including Amazon and Ford Motor Co., an established factory in Illinois and thousands of reservation holders for its R1T truck and R1S sport utility vehicle, Rivian is among the most serious competitors lining up to take on electric-vehicle leader Tesla Inc.

Rivian had net loss of US$994 million in the first six months of 2021, compared with a US$377 million loss the same period a year earlier, according to the filing. The company generates minimal revenue from the initial sales of its R1T, commercial pick-up truck, vehicles and does not generate any revenue from the sales of other products. 

The company’s other investors include T. Rowe Price Group Inc., Global Oryx Co. and Manheim Investments, the filing showed.