Electric Hypercar Developer Rimac Raises $500 Million Euro in Series D Round, Investors Include Porsche, Softbank and Goldman Sachs

author: Eric Walz   

The Rimac Nevera electric hypercar.

Electric sports car maker Rimac Group ("Rimac") has raised $500 million Euro in its latest Series D funding round. The funding round was led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and the Private Equity business within Goldman Sachs Asset Management, with participation from existing Rimac shareholders InvestIndustrial and automaker Porsche.

The funds will be primarily used to further develop Rimac Technology as it prepares to start large-volume series production of electric vehicle components for global OEMs.

The latest funding round values the electric hypercar startup at approximately $2 billion Euros. 

"Rimac has ambitious growth plans in the next few years, and we are humbled by the support of significant new investors like SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and Goldman Sachs Asset Management believing in our vision," said company founder Mate Rimac. "Our gratitude also goes to Porsche and InvestIndustrial who have played an important part in our success so far and reinforced their support with new investment."  

Mate Rimac founded the company in 2009 while working out of his garage in Croatia. His vision was to create an electric sports car that could both be fast and offer driving excitement. He remains the largest shareholder of the company.

Rimac's first electric hypercar was the "Concept One", which was in development for five years. The vehicle featured four electric motors and four gearboxes, located directly at the center of each axle. The electric powertrain produced a combined output of 1,224 horsepower and 1,180 lb-ft of torque.

Rimac debuted its second hypercar, the Concept Two ("C Two"), at the Geneva Motor Show in March 2018. The two-seater produces around 2,000 hp and reaches a top speed of 412 kilometers (256 miles) per hour. Starting price is $2.4 million and Rimac is only building 150 of them.

The two low-volume vehicles demonstrated Rimac's credentials in the field of ultra-high performance electromobility. Rimac's hypercars also serve as a testbed for all of its new developments before rolling them out in higher volume EV projects for other OEMs.

"We look forward to partnering with Mate Rimac and management in their innovation agenda and growth journey to push the limits of battery and electric powertrain performance," said Michael Bruun, EMEA Head of Private Equity within Goldman Sachs Asset Management.

Rimac's main focus now is on high-voltage battery technology and electric powertrains. Via its subsidiary Rimac Technology, Rimac is now emerging as top Tier 1 technology partner to global automotive Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) by designing, engineering and manufacturing high-performance electric vehicle components including batteries and e-axles.

Rimac's high performance e-axle propulsion systems offer extreme power and torque in a compact, low weight package. Each e-axle includes a pair of highly efficient motors coupled to a gearbox and double inverter to deliver best-in-class performance, according to Rimac.

Rimac Technology is currently ramping up production capacity and completing work on its new Rimac Campus. Running at full capacity from the Rimac Campus, Rimac Technology will be capable of producing tens of thousands of vehicle components each year, with products ranging from hybrid and fully electric battery systems to full rolling chassis.

In Nov 2021, Rimac successfully completed the merger of its hypercar division named Rimac Automobili with luxury French automaker Bugatti Automobiles. Both brands now operate under the Bugatti Rimac company, a world leading ultra-luxury and high-performance hypercar manufacturer.

The new campus will also become the headquarters of Bugatti Rimac, which is responsible for the future development of both the Bugatti Automobiles and Rimac Automobili hypercar brands.

The Rimac Campus will also be the production site for Rimac Automobili's Nevera hypercar, the world's fastest accelerating production car. Every major component was designed and engineered in-house by the Rimac team. The Nevera can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in just 1.85 seconds. Top speed is 258 mph.

Porsche first invested in Rimac in June 2018, taking a minority stake of 10% in the startup as part of its early electrification efforts. At the time. Porsche was seeking a development partnership with Rimac on a high-performance electric sports car.

"We were already convinced of the company's potential in 2018 and are pleased that we were able to contribute to its progress and current success with our commitment," said Lutz Meschke, Deputy Chairman of the Executive Board of Porsche AG and Member of the Executive Board for Finance and IT. "With new investors on board, Rimac is further expanding its position in electromobility and thus becoming an even stronger partner for Porsche."

Using the expertise gained from developing the company's latest all-electric Nevera hypercar, Rimac has developed a wide range of products from concept to large-scale production. 

Rimac Technology has already entered into partnerships with global auto brands including Porsche, Hyundai, Automobili Pininfarina, Koenigsegg and Aston Martin. 

Eric Walz

Originally hailing from New Jersey, Eric is a automotive & technology reporter covering the high-tech industry here in Silicon Valley. He has over 15 years of automotive experience and a bachelors degree in computer science. These skills, combined with technical writing and news reporting, allows him to fully understand and identify new and innovative technologies in the auto industry and beyond. He has worked at Uber on self-driving cars and as a technical writer, helping people to understand and work with technology.