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The world of electric supercars is heating up, and Porsche wants to be ready for the competition. Porsche and Rimac are increasing their collaboration in the future of electric tech with a new Series D round of funding from the Croatian brand. The Series D round is seeding with a total of around $536 million, and Porsche has committed to entering the round with an “eight-figure sum” investment. Porsche already owns a 45 percent stake in the merged Bugatti Rimac, as well as an additional 24 percent of Rimac Group, which itself owns the other 55 percent of Bugatti Rimac. Rimac Technology is focused on development and manufacturing of high-performance electric vehicle components such as batteries and e-axles. The new investment round wants to expedite Rimac Technology’s development to become a long-term Tier 1 technology partner for global car manufacturers.
“We’re delighted that Rimac has gained prominent new investors, and we are optimistic about the continued development of this exciting company,” says Lutz Meschke, Deputy Chairman of the Executive Board of Porsche AG and Member of the Executive Board for Finance and IT. “We were already convinced of the company’s potential in 2018 and are pleased that our commitment allowed us to contribute to its progress and current success. With new investors on board, Rimac is continuing to expand its position in electromobility, making it an even stronger partner for Porsche.”
The funding round leader will be Softbank Vision Fund 2, and further investment is coming from Goldman Sachs Asset Management. This will maintain Porsche’s holdings with Rimac Group at around the 24% it owns now, while founder and CEO Mate Rimac will remain the biggest shareholder. The full structure of the investment hasn’t yet been released, but this appears related to a recent interest of Porsche’s in diluting the amount of stake Hyundai has in Rimac Group. Last month Hyundai and Rimac announced that they would be ending joint projects, and potentially pulling some of its investment out of the company. Hyundai has said it will finish the electric sports car project it launched in conjunction with Rimac as an in-house project, and would discontinue the jointly-developed hydrogen fuel cell EV project.
“We have ambitious growth plans for the coming years and are proud to have the support of major new and existing investors who believe in our vision,” Rimac says. “Our thanks also go to the Porsche team, which has played an important role in our success to date and is continuing to provide its support.”
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