· investment-strategies · 5 min read
Why Did Rivian Spinout ALSO Raise Another $150M?
ALSO, the Rivian micromobility spinout, closed a $150M Series D on August 19, 2026, led by Prysm Capital. Cumulative funding is about $455M. No valuation was disclosed. Launch-edition e-bikes are only now shipping.
ALSO raised $150 million Series D on August 19, 2026, led by Prysm Capital. TechCrunch puts total funding at about $455 million in less than two years. No valuation was disclosed.
Unexpected truth: this is not ALSO Holding AG (SIX: ALSN), the European distributor. This ALSO is the Rivian micromobility spinout at ridealso.com. The launch-edition TM-B is only now shipping after delays — and the new money is aimed at autonomy, not just bikes.
This page is for people deciding whether ALSO (or small-form-factor delivery EVs) is worth another hour. Last verified August 20, 2026. We do not have a company Series D post; facts below are TechCrunch plus the 2025 launch PR.
Five-minute decision
| If you need… | Verdict |
|---|---|
| What happened | Funded. $150M Series D, Prysm lead, Aug 19, 2026. ~$455M cumulative (TechCrunch). |
| What ALSO is | Rivian-born small EVs (TM-B bike, TM-Q quad) moving into autonomous delivery. |
| Whether it is “shipping” | Launch edition beginning to ship (company via TechCrunch). Other models: fall. Autonomy: in development. |
| Whether to diligence | Yes, if you underwrite DoorDash/Amazon paths on a shared architecture. No, if you need a disclosed valuation or bike-unit economics first. |
Investigate further when: you believe one electric architecture across bike, quad, and robotaxi-scale delivery is the scarce asset.
Wait or pass when: delayed consumer hardware is a hard stop, or you think full-size vans already occupy last-mile autonomy spend.
What happened
| Field | Detail |
|---|---|
| Company | ALSO (ridealso.com); Palo Alto; spun out of Rivian in 2025 |
| Round | $150M Series D (TechCrunch, Aug 19, 2026) |
| Lead | Prysm Capital (no /fund/ page here) |
| Participants | Eclipse, Greenoaks, MVP Ventures (none in our directory) |
| Cumulative | ~$455M since founding (TechCrunch) |
| Valuation | Not disclosed |
| Use of proceeds | Accelerate autonomous driving tech; multiple autonomous form factors on the same architecture |
| Prior | $200M round a few months earlier, Greenoaks-led, with Prysm and DoorDash strategic + multiyear AV agreement |
| Spinout | 2025, with $150M (TechCrunch this week). Oct 2025 launch PR is the product debut. |
Rivian tie: minority stake; RJ Scaringe on the board; retail/tech leverage described in prior coverage. ALSO is independent.
What ALSO actually does
Product (2025 launch PR + company site):
- TM-B — pedal-assist electric bike. Launch PR listed a $4,500 two-wheeler; TechCrunch this week says the launch edition was delayed for months and is beginning to ship, with performance/standard models opening preorder and fall delivery.
- TM-Q — four-wheel pedal-assist quad for cargo and consumers. Amazon: multi-year collaboration for thousands of commercial quads (TechCrunch, Oct 2025).
- Autonomy — this Series D’s stated job. Future vehicles share the bike/quad electric architecture.
Job: move people and packages on short local trips with vehicles smaller than a car, then make some of those vehicles driverless.
How big is ALSO actually?
| Question | Disclosed? | What we have |
|---|---|---|
| Series D size | Yes (press) | $150M (TechCrunch) |
| Valuation | No | Do not invent one |
| Cumulative | Press | ~$455M (TechCrunch: ~$305M after the prior round + $150M) |
| Revenue / deliveries | No dollars | Launch edition beginning to ship; other models fall |
| Amazon | Prior | Thousands of TM-Q (Oct 2025 TechCrunch); not restated as a 2026 unit update here |
| DoorDash | Prior round | Strategic check + multiyear autonomy agreement |
| Independence | Yes | Spinout; Rivian minority + Scaringe board seat |
No valuation is the headline after the $150 million. Treat ~$455M as TechCrunch’s cumulative, not a reconstructed cap table.
Worked numbers (indicative)
- Setup: 2025 spinout with $150M. Oct 22, 2025 — TM-B / TM-Q launch; Amazon commercial quad deal.
- Move: Early 2026 — $200M (Greenoaks; DoorDash). Aug 19 — $150M D (Prysm) for autonomy.
- Punch: ~$455M into a company whose consumer bike just started shipping. That is a hardware + AV burn shape, not a SaaS round.
Same-day tape: Castelion printed $13B. Different category. Both are physical companies raising because software-only checks are not the whole August book.
ALSO vs Rivian — what differs
| ALSO (this company) | Rivian | |
|---|---|---|
| Product | Bike + quad + planned small autonomous vehicles | Full-size electric trucks/vans/SUVs |
| Status | Private spinout | Public automaker; minority owner of ALSO |
| This week’s check | $150M D, Prysm | Not this round |
| Website | ridealso.com | rivian.com |
| Name collision | Not ALSO Holding AG (also.com, SIX: ALSN) | n/a |
Choose ALSO when you are underwriting sub-car electric + delivery autonomy. Choose Rivian when you are underwriting full-size EVs. Do not paste also.com filings into this memo.
ALSO vs Gravis: Gravis retrofits excavators ($200M SoftBank A, Aug 17). ALSO builds new small street vehicles. Same “physical AI” week, different buyers.
Why investors likely wrote $150M
Known evidence (TechCrunch + 2025 PR)
- Named commercial path: Amazon quads (2025).
- Named AV path: DoorDash multiyear agreement from the prior round.
- Shared architecture across form factors (company).
- Prysm: same vertically integrated thesis as early Rivian, applied to smaller vehicles.
Our interpretation (not an IC memo)
| Bet | Why it could justify another $150M |
|---|---|
| Fleet customers exist | Amazon + DoorDash are not hypothetical logos |
| One architecture | Bike/quad/AV share powertrain — cheaper than three OEMs |
| Rivian residual | Retail, manufacturing know-how, Scaringe on the board |
What we cannot claim: TM-B attach rate, quad deliveries, or autonomy timeline beyond “accelerate development.”
What has to be true for ALSO to win
- Launch-edition shipping becomes repeatable volume, not a one-week PR.
- Autonomy on the bike/quad architecture actually clears safety for delivery.
- DoorDash and Amazon convert agreements into deployed vehicles.
- Consumer TM-B delays do not poison the commercial story.
What could break the thesis
- Hardware delays continue while $455M burns.
- Autonomy spend turns the Series D into a science project.
- Full-size EV makers (including Rivian) take last-mile themselves.
- Name collision with ALSO Holding AG pollutes search and filings.
When not to use this page
- Do not file this under ALSO Holding AG / ALSN.
- Do not invent a valuation.
- Do not invent
/fund/pages for Prysm, Eclipse, Greenoaks, or MVP. - Do not treat Oct 2025 Amazon “thousands” as an August 2026 delivery confirmation.
Where to go next
Same-day defense print: Castelion $13B. Physical-AI week: Gravis $200M. Month tape: August 2026 VC news. Entity: ALSO.
