RJ SCARINGE
Founder, CEO
Rivian Automotive
Irvine
Head of EV maker that many see as the most promising challenger to Elon Musk’s Tesla (Nasdaq: TSLA), the world’s most valuable automaker. The upstart went public last November, making waves as Orange County’s largest IPO on record, by a wide margin. Nationally, it was the most anticipated IPO of 2021, raising more than any other U.S. company since 2014, with gross proceeds of $13.5 billion. That money’s going into OC: as of early May, the company had openings for over 350 positions at its rapidly expanding Irvine headquarters, where it has already built a base of nearly 2,000 workers in a few short years.
THEN: With a valuation at one point topping $150 billion late last year, Rivian was—for a time—the most valuable public company in OC’s history.
NOW: The company has seen its valuation stumble amid supply chain issues, slower-than-expected deliveries, and a broader industry downturn. Rivian was valued around $25 billion as of mid-May, making it No. 3 among public companies based in OC.
FUTURE: The company produced 2,553 electric vehicles in the first quarter of the year and delivered 1,227 vehicles during the same period. It delivered 920 vehicles last year. First-quarter figures “are in line with the company’s expectations, and it believes it is well positioned to deliver on the 25,000 annual production guidance provided during its fourth-quarter earnings call on March 10, 2022,” the company said in April.
IN THEIR WORDS: “The vast majority of our vehicle is not having supply chain constraints. It’s just a small percentage,” Scaringe told CNBC in April. “It doesn’t take more than one part to stop the production.”
SUSAN BRENNAN
CEO
Romeo Power
Cypress
Battery maker for commercial electric vehicles that will soon be moving more than 250 employees and its headquarters from Los Angeles to a 215,000-square-foot spot in Cypress, in the latest sign of Orange County’s growing stature as an EV hub. The company says its products are designed to power commercial vehicles such as trucks, buses and delivery vans.
THEN: Romeo Power went public through a reverse merger with a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, and started trading on the New York Stock Exchange at the end of 2020. Brennan was named CEO last year, and the move to OC was among her first big acts.
NOW: The opportunity to “recruit and retain talent” was a key factor in the in-progress move to OC, according to Brennan. “R&D is core to Romeo’s success. When we identified the location in Cypress, it was perfect for all kinds of reasons,” including “the ability for us to grow and have enough space to expand our labs.” New space will support the company’s expansion of battery development and testing capabilities next to its production line.
FUTURE: Romeo Power, with nearly $270 million of cash on the books as of last year, says it will enable battery-operated vehicle owners “to eliminate negative emissions in a safe and cost-effective manner so they can meet the evolving environmental regulations in the U.S. and abroad.”
IN THEIR WORDS: Brennan, speaking of the emerging EV market, said that “the total cost of ownership, we’re confident, will continue to improve.”
“The electric vehicle industry has reached a critical inflection point and the demand for affordable high-density battery solutions is at an all-time high,” the company added.
ROBERT RANGO
CEO
Enevate
Irvine
Firm developing fast-charging batteries for electric vehicles, now with a fast-charging expansion underway in Irvine Spectrum. Develops and licenses advanced battery technology for electric vehicles, with a vision of EVs charging as fast as refueling gas cars, while making them accessible and affordable to everyone, and accelerating EVs’ mass adoption.
THEN: Formed in 2005, the company calls itself one of the “early pioneers” working to make a new class of Li-ion batteries that utilizes silicon-dominant anodes. After initially focusing on cellphone batteries and other products, in 2016 it pivoted to the EV charging business, led by Rango, a former Broadcom exec.
NOW: Earlier this year signed a lease for over 125,000 square feet for a pre-production line and new headquarters at 34 Parker Drive. New facility in the Irvine Spectrum represents a substantial growth from the company’s existing space of 20,000 square feet at UCI Research Park. “With Enevate’s expanding customer base, increased number of projects, and more employees we simply ran out of room at our current facility,” Rango said. Company boosted its worker base by 50% last year.
FUTURE: Enevate last year secured $81 million in Series E funding led by Fidelity Management & Research Co., bringing total investment in the Irvine firm to nearly $200 million. An IPO is a consideration in the future, execs say.
IN THEIR WORDS: Of the expansion, Rango said: “This is a major milestone for the company during a very exciting time in mobility as the world transitions to electric vehicles.”
