さらに1億5,000万ドルを調達し、自社のe-bikeプラットフォームを自律化する

Why it matters

Also is reusing one electric architecture across bikes, cargo quads and autonomous delivery. Success would turn $455M into a platform bet spanning consumer mobility and urban logistics.

Chris Yu, the former Rivian skunkworks leader who now serves as co-founder and president of Also, has raised $150M for the small-EV maker's next act: autonomous delivery vehicles. The Series D, reported by TechCrunch on August 19, was led by Prysm Capital, with existing investors Eclipse, Greenoaks and MVP Ventures participating. (TechCrunch)

Yu joined Rivian in 2022 as vice president of future programs and led the internal project that became Also. Before Rivian, he was chief product and technology officer at Specialized Bicycle Components, where his work covered bicycle engineering, product development and operations. Rivian founder RJ Scaringe (@RJScaringe) is an Also co-founder and board member, while Rivian retains a minority stake. (TechCrunch)

The origin story was smaller and more personal than the financing suggests. In an April 2025 post, Yu wrote about taking his child to school on a small vehicle and valuing the chance to remain present outside a car. Also grew from that daily trip into a broader thesis: short journeys deserve purpose-built electric vehicles rather than scaled-down automotive compromises. (Also)

$455M in less than two years

Also says the new round brings its total funding to $455M. That figure reconciles with a $105M spinout financing from Eclipse, a subsequent $200M round and the new $150M Series D. The prior $200M financing carried a reported $1B post-money valuation and later brought DoorDash into the investor group through a strategic investment tied to a multiyear commercial agreement. (TechCrunch)

The funding record contains one discrepancy worth separating from the headline number. TechCrunch's August 19 report describes Also as having spun out with $150M, while its original March 26, 2025 report put the Eclipse financing at $105M. The $105M figure also makes the stated $455M total add up when combined with the $200M and $150M rounds. (TechCrunch)

Prysm's investment rests heavily on Scaringe's record. Jay Park, Prysm's co-founder and managing partner, first backed Rivian in 2018, when the EV maker was still operating in stealth. In Prysm's investment note, the firm framed Also as an extension of the same vertically integrated vehicle strategy, applied to smaller machines operating on roads, curbs and bike lanes. (Prysm Capital)

That history explains why Prysm is willing to finance Also at unusual speed. The investor is underwriting a repeatable industrial playbook: use software, battery systems and in-house vehicle engineering across several physical products, then sell those products into both consumer and commercial channels. Also has yet to prove that the Rivian formula transfers cleanly to vehicles with lower prices and different manufacturing economics.

One architecture, several vehicles

Also says the Series D will accelerate autonomous-driving development and allow several autonomous vehicle formats to progress at the same time. Those vehicles are intended to share the electric architecture behind the TM-B, Also's software-defined pedal-assist bike, and the TM-Q, its four-wheel cargo and passenger vehicle. (TechCrunch)

The architecture strategy is the center of Yu's bet. The current TM-B is a software-defined pedal-assist electric bike. Also's launch edition is priced at $4,500. The TM-Q extends the platform to four wheels and is designed for commercial cargo, personal transport and bike-lane operation where local rules permit it. (Also)

The commercial pipeline gives that platform a reason to exist beyond product design. Amazon agreed to buy thousands of customized TM-Q cargo vehicles for delivery operations. Also says the quads can carry more than 400 pounds of packages while remaining small enough for bike-lane environments. (TechCrunch)

DoorDash gives Yu a route into autonomy. Under the March 31 partnership, Also and DoorDash agreed to develop and deploy small autonomous EVs for dense areas where roads, bike lanes, shoulders and curbs overlap. "Small autonomous EVs are optimal in these environments," Yu said in the announcement. (Also)

DoorDash is keeping several delivery technologies in play. DoorDash has its own Dot ground robot, an in-house drone program and outside autonomous partners, and it says its software will match orders with the appropriate delivery method. Also is entering that portfolio rather than receiving DoorDash's entire autonomy mandate. The arrangement gives Yu access to delivery demand and operational feedback while DoorDash avoids relying on one vehicle supplier or mode. (DoorDash)

The hardware still has to arrive

The autonomy expansion comes while Also is completing the rollout of its first consumer product. The TM-B Launch Edition missed its original spring delivery target because of supply-chain constraints. On July 31, Also said those bikes had begun moving from the manufacturer to a US warehouse and that customer deliveries would run into September. TechCrunch's August 19 report said the Launch Edition was beginning to reach customers, with deliveries of the standard and performance versions expected in the fall. (TechCrunch)

That timing puts the round in perspective. Investors are financing a wider autonomy program while Yu's team is still working through the manufacturing and fulfillment problems attached to the first bike. Shared architecture can reduce duplicated engineering, but autonomous vehicles add perception, safety validation and fleet operations to an already demanding hardware program.

Yu's thesis remains coherent across each product. The school run that motivated Also and the delivery route DoorDash wants to automate both involve short trips poorly served by a full-size car or van. The next test is physical execution: fulfilling bike orders, putting Amazon's cargo quads into service and showing that the same architecture can move DoorDash orders safely without a rider.