Volkswagen becomes Rivian’s largest shareholder

German automaker Volkswagen has officially surpassed Amazon to become the largest shareholder in U.S. electric vehicle startup Rivian. According to the latest U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) documents filed Monday, Volkswagen now holds a 15.9% equity stake in Rivian, up from its previous 8.6% stake. The filings show that Volkswagen Group now owns 209.7 million shares of Rivian stock.

This shift displaces Amazon, which holds a 12.28% stake. Amazon was an early backer of the startup, disclosing a 20% stake in 2021 ahead of Rivian’s IPO after making an initial $700 million investment. Amazon is also a customer; in September 2019, Rivian entered into an agreement with Amazon to produce 100,000 electric delivery vans. Other top shareholders in the company include Oryx Global with an 8.6% share and Vanguard with a 5.1% share. Rivian founder and chief executive RJ Scaringe holds a roughly 1.1% stake in the company.

The transition is tied to a joint venture between Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies, which was officially formed in November 2024. The partnership focuses on developing vehicle software and hardware systems, which are also referred to as electrical architecture. Under the agreement, Volkswagen has committed to invest $5.8 billion into Rivian, with capital unlocked as specific milestones are met. The investment is structured in the following tranches:

• An initial $1 billion investment to kick off the deal.
• A second $1 billion investment in mid-2025.
• Another $1 billion received last month.

Despite this capital injection, Rivian disclosed in a filing detailing its partnership with ride-hailing company Uber that it does not expect to be EBITDA positive—meaning profitable before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization—next year. This is due to heavy research and development spending, which rose to $1.7 billion in 2025 from $1.6 billion in 2024. Much of this capital has been directed toward its autonomy efforts, prompting the company to push its profitability goal past 2027. However, the funding has supported other milestones; Rivian started production of its R2 vehicle in April.

Why it matters

The shift signals a deepening reliance on traditional automotive capital for electric vehicle startups, as Rivian prioritizes long-term software and vehicle systems development over immediate profitability.