RJ Scaringe has raised more than $12 billion in three startups and investors are still asking for more

Investors can’t seem to get enough of RJ Scaringe or his ideas.

In less than ten years, the entrepreneur who is best known for his EV company Rivian, has raised more than $12.3 billion from major financial institutions, as well as strategic investors and startups in his three years – and counting – of startups. If it’s recent $400 million raise because of his new work Mind Robotics is an indicator, investors are still happy.

Beginner’s grade upgrades have become more common in recent years. But most of these billions of dollars are usually reserved for security startups or AI companies founded by former employees of OpenAI or Anthropic.

These big seeds weren’t flowing to something like an electric starter. And in 2025, Scaringe raised $ 105 million for this – the so-called startup Alsowhich he started the same year. The total number is over $300 millionand DoorDash among its sponsors.

Jiten Behl, an Eclipse partner and former Rivian executive, has spent years watching and learning from Scaringe. His company is now one of Scaringe’s main sponsors, leading both the Also and Mind Robotics teams – Scaringe’s industrial AI and robotics startup that he also launched last year.

Storytelling and communication are among his greatest strengths, according to Behl, who joined Rivian when the company had only a handful of employees.

“When RJ tells a story, a topic, an opportunity, a vision, he just has a very unique ability to communicate it very well, and it’s very believable,” Behl said. “They’re not trying to mitigate the risks or manage the opportunities, and that’s a skill.”

Scaringe isn’t the only business that can attract large amounts of funding over and over again, but startups that can raise billions across multiple ventures are rare. A self-proclaimed car enthusiast who earned a doctorate in mechanical engineering from MIT, Scaringe joins a small group of entrepreneurs that includes Tesla CEO and SpaceX co-founder Elon Musk, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Anduril and Oculus founder Palmer Luckey, and Jack Dorsey, who founded Square (now called Block) and Twitter.

The difference, especially in the minds of investors TechCrunch spoke to, is that they can separate selling the idea from selling themselves. “He’s very open and confident in his personality, and he’s not trying to be Elon,” Behl said, knowing that many have tried to compare him over the years.

“It’s not about him,” an insider familiar with Scaringe’s business told TechCrunch. “When you talk to him, he’s interested in the medicine that’s really out there.”

Of course, there is confidence and a little ego, the same source mused, but “it doesn’t weigh on you.” The source added that Scaringe also has a special knack for making you feel like the most special person in the room – the way others do.

Giving this kind of attention to an investor, supplier, or exec to a manufacturer is difficult at the level Scaringe is trying. Running three companies, he often commutes between Palo Alto, Irvine, Rivian’s factory in Normal, Illinois, and the soon-to-be-opened second factory in Georgia. And then there is the family – Scaringe has three sons with his ex-wife.

Joe Fath, a partner at Eclipse, credits his openness and collaboration with helping him attract capital and transform related, but disparate businesses.

He said Scaringe also has the “rare combination of being a senior engineer and having a unique experience in product development,” said Fath, who previously worked at Rivian’s giant T.Rowe Price. “Very few founders are able to work at that level professionally and understand what affects the emotions of customers – both consumers and business buyers. That combination is very unusual and has clearly become part of what makes Rivian’s products, and now also with Mind’s, very different.”

Scaringe’s financial run over the past eight years has been remarkable, and it doesn’t seem to be slowing down.

More than $ 11 billion, and up to a small portion of VC and capital of knowledge, entered Rivian – most of them between 2018 and its blockbuster IPO in 2021. It is a very surprising time especially considering that the company, which was originally called Mainstream Motors, existed since 2009. For many years, Rivian operated as a small, unknown entity. the moment of breaking In late 2018 at the Los Angeles Auto Show, it unveiled prototypes of its R1T electric car and R1S SUV.

The money soon came out, and all sides. In early 2019 and just a few months after this disclosure, Rivian raised $700 million in funding. led by Amazon. US automaker Ford has invested $500 million in plans to partner with the company’s future EV program. Cox Automotive contributed $350 million. Rivian closes the year with $1.3 billion round – the fourth in 2019 – led by funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates, with additions from Amazon, Ford, and funds managed by BlackRock.

In July 2020, Rivian earned $2.5 billion and another $2.65 billion after six months. As whispers of an IPO grow, Rivian has closed another $2.5 billion private equity round 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 also participated.

Then came the IPO. Rivian raised nearly $12 billion in net income after closing at $78 per share. Its market hit $100 billion when it debuted on the Nasdaq in November 2021. Today, it stands at $18.2 billion today, a significant drop that also reflects the many challenges of the EV sector.

Being able to raise such a large amount of money, despite the difficulties, is exceptional. But Scaringe didn’t stop with Rivian. If so, the pace has increased significantly. Also Mind Robotics together raised more than $1.3 billion to date, with Mind Robotics moving very fast: $115 million in its first year, $500 million in March, and another $400 million this week.

Rivian continues to acquire well-known sponsors through high-profile deals such as a $5.8 billion deal with the Volkswagen Group and robotaxi cooperation $1.25 billion with Uber.

“Now, the big question is, how much can he do?” Behl said. “That’s the question (that) he already thinks he’s reaching his limit. The thing is, he’s not looking that way. His mind is that there’s a big benefit to be made, there’s a big impact to be created, and I have to do it.”