Luxury EV company Lucid announced it is raising $1 billion in capital from an affiliate of the Saudi Arabia-based Public Investment Fund (PIF). The Saudi government has a 60% stake in the EV company and has invested several billion in it as part of an initiative to diversify its holdings beyond the oil industry.
PIF affiliate Ayar Third Investment Company will buy $1 billion in convertible preferred stock and will have the option to cover the preferred stock into about 280 million shares.
Lucid plans to use the net proceeds from the private placement for general corporate purposes, including capital expenditures and working capital.
Lucid was founded in 2007 under the name Atieva. In 2013, Peter Rawlinson, a former chief engineer at Tesla, joined the company as CEO and CTO. In 2022, the Lucid Air vehicle arrived on the market and won several awards. This year, Lucid plans to release the Lucid Gravity SUV.
KEY QUOTE:
“We are extremely pleased to receive this strong, continued support from the PIF, as we work to solidify our place as the world’s leading EV technology company. We continue to invest for the long term in both our technology and our vertically integrated manufacturing capabilities, with PIF’s support a key differentiator. With their support, we remain focused upon accelerating our growth via deliveries, executing key business initiatives with relentless focus upon cost, and launching our game-changing Gravity SUV later this year.”
– Peter Rawlinson, CEO and CTO, Lucid Group
