Rimac Group said on Tuesday it has raised 500 million euros ($536 million), funds that will help the Croatian startup expand beyond its electric hypercar roots and become a global supplier of electric vehicle components and eventually , in a publicly traded company. Softbank Vision Fund 2 and Goldman Sachs led the Series D investment round in a deal that valued the maker at 2 billion euros ($2.2 billion). The round includes an “eight-figure sum” from Porsche, which now owns 20% of the company. Founder and CEO Mate Rimac will remain the largest shareholder in the Rimac Group, the majority shareholder in the recently merged Bugatti Rimac, and the sole shareholder in Rimac Technology. “SoftBank is the largest technology investor in the world, and Goldman is a very large financial investor,” Mate Rimac said Tuesday in a media call. He added that while the company’s hypercar business is sustainable, the investment is crucial both for the development of the company’s Rimac Technology subsidiary and for Rimac’s prospects of going public in the future. The funds will be used to recruit talent, build a $200 million campus for Rimac’s headquarters in Zagreb, Croatia, and to develop and produce batteries, software and other components for electric cars. Above all, the money will also help Rimac stay independent from the bigger automakers, the chief executive said. “It’s very good for us to have Porsche and Hyundai on board as shareholders, but we don’t want to be completely dependent on them.” Rimac merged its hypercar division with French supercar maker Bugatti in November. The resulting company, called Bugatti Rimac, is developing the $2.5 million Rimac Nevera hypercar, a 1,914-horsepower electric vehicle that it claims can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in 1.85 seconds, faster than any other production car. That car, which made its debut last year, will hit the market this summer. Developing and manufacturing Refrigerator in-house has helped the company develop a range of technologies that it can supply to other car manufacturers. In addition to Porsche and Hyundai, the company has also partnered with Automobili Pininfarina, Koenigsegg and Aston Martin to design, engineer and manufacture batteries and other parts for high-performance electric vehicles. Construction of the nearly 25-acre campus in Zagreb began in August. Rimac said Tuesday that the project is scheduled to open in 2023. “Despite all the material shortages and all the challenges that are in the supply chain right now, we’re making pretty good progress,” Rimac said. The headquarters will house research and development for Rimac and Bugatti, as well as the production of electric cars, including the Nevera, and a variety of components, including battery systems and chassis. The company said the site will be able to produce tens of thousands of components annually once it reaches full capacity. The new funding will also help Rimac hire 700 employees by 2022, nearly doubling its current workforce, and open new offices and factories across Europe, including in Germany and England, and possibly Italy, according to the company. “Croatia has two unicorns, us and another company,” Rimac said, referring to Infobip, an IT and telecommunications company. “Italy, to my knowledge, doesn’t have a single one, despite being like 12 times bigger than Croatia. So [this investment] It is something very, very big for the region, which shows that you can attract the best international investors in a really competitive industry and make an important company”.
