The archive · Hardware & Devices · Product decision · 2022–2026
Also: Rivian's spinout bets small electric vehicles go autonomous
Rivian's e-bike spinout raised $455M in three rounds since March 2025, betting its shared small-vehicle platform becomes riderless delivery hardware.
Also
What the business is
Also, a Palo Alto startup spun out of Rivian in March 2025, designs vertically integrated small electric vehicles on one shared electric architecture - the TM-B pedal-assist e-bike and the TM-Q pedal-assist delivery quad - and is now developing autonomous versions to carry people and packages without a rider.
Starting capital：$105M Series B led by Eclipse at spinout (March 2025)
How it started
Also began as Project Inder, a 2022 skunkworks inside Rivian testing whether its vertically integrated approach to trucks and SUVs could apply to smaller vehicles, with Jony Ive's LoveFrom helping design the concept. Rivian spun it out in March 2025 with $105M led by Eclipse; RJ Scaringe founded and chairs the company, and ex-Specialized and ex-Rivian executive Chris Yu runs it as president.
What happened
Also revealed its first products in October 2025 - the TM-B two-wheeler and two quad vehicles, one supplied to Amazon. In March 2026 it raised a $200M Series C led by Greenoaks with Prysm and a DoorDash strategic investment tied to a multiyear autonomous-delivery agreement, at a $1B valuation. The TM-B launch edition was delayed for months before beginning to ship in July 2026, with performance and standard models opened for preorder. On August 18-19, 2026, Also closed a $150M Series D led by Prysm Capital with Eclipse, Greenoaks and MVP Ventures, bringing total funding to about $455M, earmarked to accelerate autonomous driving technology across multiple small-vehicle form factors.
No ending yet — it is still running.
Background
Also is the micromobility company Rivian spun out in March 2025 from Project Inder, an internal skunkworks started in 2022 to test whether Rivian's vertically integrated way of building trucks could apply to vehicles smaller than cars. Jony Ive's LoveFrom helped design the concept, and RJ Scaringe founded the new company and chairs it.
Its products are the TM-B pedal-assist e-bike and the TM-Q pedal-assist delivery quad, both built on one shared electric architecture of motors, batteries, computing and software. Rather than competing head-on in the consumer e-bike market where Rad Power Bikes went bankrupt and Porsche closed its e-bike division, Also anchored on commercial customers: Amazon and DoorDash use the TM-Q, and DoorDash's March 2026 strategic investment came with a multiyear agreement to develop and deploy autonomous delivery vehicles.
Funding escalated fast: $105M at spinout led by Eclipse (March 2025), a $200M Series C led by Greenoaks at a $1B valuation with DoorDash and Prysm (March 2026), then a $150M Series D led by Prysm Capital with Eclipse, Greenoaks and MVP Ventures in August 2026 - about $455M in under 18 months. The company says the new capital accelerates autonomous driving technology across multiple form factors that reuse the same architecture.
As of September 2026, the TM-B launch edition had begun shipping after months of delay, performance and standard models were open for preorder with fall deliveries, and Also had not yet shipped an autonomous vehicle. The open question, as Tech Funding News put it, is whether one e-bike and one delivery quad are enough to carry a full autonomy strategy.
What has to be true
- Commercial anchors came first: Amazon and DoorDash gave Also recurring demand and capital in a market where consumer e-bike startups kept failing.
- One shared electric architecture spans the e-bike, the delivery quad and future autonomous forms, so each vehicle funds the next.
- Repeat investors escalated every round - $105M, then $200M at $1B, then $150M - pushing total funding to about $455M in less than 18 months.
- Rivian's vertical-integration playbook plus design pedigree (LoveFrom, ex-Apple, ex-Google, ex-Specialized, ex-Tesla people) differentiated the hardware from cheap imports.
What can be applied
Anchor commercial demand before chasing autonomy: Amazon and DoorDash contracts funded Also's platform through three rounds while consumer e-bike rivals collapsed around it.
Aftermath
As of September 4, 2026, Also had closed its $150M Series D (announced August 18-19, 2026), taking total funding to about $455M at a valuation above $1B; Prysm Capital led with Eclipse, Greenoaks and MVP Ventures. The TM-B e-bike began shipping in July 2026 after months of launch delays; performance and standard models were open for preorder with fall deliveries expected. DoorDash's multiyear autonomous-delivery agreement and the Amazon quad supply deal remain the commercial anchors; Rivian holds a minority stake and Scaringe chairs the board. Also had not yet shipped an autonomous vehicle.
Sources
- Rivian spinout Also raises another $150M
- Also raises $150M to turn Rivian's $3,500 e-bike into a billion-dollar autonomous vehicle play
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