• ■

    Also, Rivian’s autonomous vehicle spinoff, raises $200 million from DoorDash and Greenoaks Capital, bringing total funding above $500 million

  • ■

    DoorDash will partner with Also to deploy custom-built autonomous delivery vehicles, marking its biggest bet yet on eliminating driver costs

  • ■

    The deal puts Also in direct competition with Nuro, Serve Robotics, and other AV startups racing to crack the last-mile delivery market

  • ■

    Also will leverage Rivian’s electric vehicle platform expertise to build purpose-designed delivery bots for urban environments

The last-mile delivery wars just got a major new player. Also, the autonomous vehicle spinoff from electric truck maker Rivian, just closed a $200 million funding round led by DoorDash and Greenoaks Capital, pushing its total funding past the $500 million mark. The deal signals DoorDash’s aggressive push into self-driving delivery tech as the food delivery giant looks to slash the hefty costs of human couriers while competing with Uber’s robotics ambitions.

Also, the autonomous vehicle company spun out from electric truck maker Rivian last year, just secured the kind of validation every startup dreams of – a strategic investment from the exact customer it’s trying to serve. DoorDash joined venture firm Greenoaks Capital in pouring $200 million into Also, according to TechCrunch, bringing the company’s total funding to more than $500 million since its inception.

The partnership comes as DoorDash faces mounting pressure to reduce its dependence on gig workers, whose costs have eaten into the company’s margins for years. Delivery fees and driver compensation now account for roughly 60% of every order’s cost, making autonomous vehicles one of the few paths to sustainable profitability in the brutally competitive food delivery market. By investing directly in Also, DoorDash is betting it can control its own destiny rather than relying on third-party robotics providers.

Rivian launched Also as an independent entity in early 2025, transferring key engineers and its electric skateboard platform technology to the new venture. The spinoff strategy let Rivian focus on consumer trucks and SUVs while giving Also the freedom to pursue commercial partnerships without conflicting with Rivian’s brand positioning. The approach mirrors how GM spun out Cruise and Ford invested in Argo AI, though those efforts have faced significant setbacks in recent years.