Rivian spins out a new micromobility startup called Also with $105M from Eclipse

Before RJ Scaringe founded Rivian in 2009, he had micromobility on his mind. More than a decade later, his musings took root in a small skunkworks program inside Rivian that set out to answer one question: Could the company’s technology be condensed down into something smaller and more affordable than its electric vans, trucks, and SUVs? The answer was yes. But what they also discovered, Scaringe told TechCrunch, was that the skunkworks program was a bigger idea than could naturally exist within Rivian. That skunkworks — now a team of about 70 people hailing from Apple, Google, Specialized, Tesla, REI Co-Op, and Uber — has spun out of Rivian with a new name and $105 million in funding from Eclipse Ventures. The startup, called Also, will exist as a standalone company from Rivian. But the two will be closely related. Rivian holds a minority stake, Scaringe will serve on its board, and Also will leverage the automaker’s tech, retail presence, and economies of scale. Chris Yu, Rivian’s ... Read full article.