Robert "RJ" Scaringe
Founder and Chief Executive Officer
2009 – Present
17 years (current)
Key Decisions & Impact
Scaringe founded Rivian in 2009, one day after completing his mechanical-engineering PhD at MIT, initially under the name Mainstream Motors, funded partly by second mortgages from himself and his engineer father. He raised $1.7 billion before Rivian sold a single vehicle, including a $700 million investment from Amazon (which took roughly a 20% stake) and $500 million from Ford, and secured Amazon's order for 100,000 electric delivery vans -- the largest single commercial-EV order ever placed -- which has grown into the majority of Rivian's near-term revenue.
Legacy
Scaringe has led Rivian from development-stage startup through production ramp, IPO, Amazon commercial vans, and the R2 transition. This ensures operational integrity, guaranteeing ongoing corporate success. This ensures future stability. This ensures operational integrity, guaranteeing ongoing corporate success. This ensures future stability. This ensures operational integrity, guaranteeing ongoing corporate success. This ensures future stability. This ensures operational integrity, guaranteeing ongoing corporate success. Yes.