Croatian EV supercar maker Rimac raised 500 million euros to make parts for Big Auto rivals

Rimac Group, the Croatian company best known for its 1,900 horsepower Nevera electric sports car, said it has raised 500 million euros (about $537 million) from investors including Goldman Sachs, Porsche and a technology fund advised by Japan’s SoftBank.

The new funding round values Rimac at over 2 billion euros.

Rimac made headlines last year when it agreed to take a controlling interest in Bugatti, the ultra-exclusive French automaker that had long been part of the Volkswagen Group. As part of that deal, Bugatti and Rimac’s sports-car business were combined in a joint venture between Rimac and VW subsidiary Porsche, with Rimac holding a 55% stake.  

The new investment is expected to accelerate Rimac’s pivot away from its roots as a small-scale manufacturer of high-end electric sports cars. It will continue to manufacture the $2.4 million Nevera via the joint venture with Porsche, as well as a series of new models for Bugatti. But now it plans to focus much of its effort, and most of its fresh capital, on its Rimac Technology subsidiary, which develops and manufactures components for high-performance electric and hybrid vehicles made by other automakers.  

Rimac Technology has already attracted several big-name automaker clients — including Ferrari, Hyundai, Jaguar, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche and Renault — and past investments from both Hyundai and Porsche.

Rimac said it will use this new capital infusion to hire 700 new employees, to open a series of new offices in Europe, and to build out a new headquarters currently under construction near Zagreb, Croatia’s capital.

That new headquarters facility — which will include manufacturing and warehouse space as well as offices and laboratories — will be the largest building in Croatia when it is completed next year, CEO Mate Rimac told reporters in a briefing Tuesday.