A Look At Funding To EV Startups As Biden Administration Rolls Out Funding For Charging Network

The Biden administration said Thursday that $5 billion will be available to states to fund electric vehicle charging stations over the next five years. The initiative is part of President Joe Biden’s infrastructure law, which allocated $7.5 billion to build a network of EV chargers. 

The adoption of electric vehicles has revved up over the past couple of years, although EV sales still make up a small percentage of total car sales in the U.S. Electric car maker Tesla remains the dominant player, according to CNBC.

But startup players are entering the market too, perhaps most notably electric pickup truck maker Rivian, which went public last year with the largest IPO of the year, despite minimal sales thus far. 

And venture investors are backing other companies focused on various aspects of electric vehicle technology, including batteries and charging infrastructure.

Funding to VC-backed electric vehicle startups topped $19 billion last year, according to Crunchbase data. That’s more than double the roughly $9.6 billion raised by companies in the space in 2020. Rivian led the pack in terms of funding, raising $2.65 billion in January 2021 and another $2.5 billion in July. 

The amount of money invested in EV companies shows that investors are doubling down on the sector as governments implement mandates and incentives to encourage electric vehicle adoption. It’s not just VCs investing in EVs—legacy automakers including Ford and GM are developing their own vehicles and investing in startups related to the EV space.

Illustration: Dom Guzman

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