The Palo Alto-based small-EV company, ALSO, which emerged from Rivian in 2025, secured $200 million in a Series C funding round led by Greenoaks Capital, with involvement from Prysm Capital and strategic support from DoorDash. This round elevates the company’s valuation to over $1 billion. In addition to the investment, ALSO and DoorDash have entered a multi-year commercial agreement focused on developing and deploying autonomous delivery vehicles at a large scale. This agreement enhances the significance of the capital raise beyond a mere financial investment. Stanley Tang, co-founder and Head of DoorDash Labs, will join ALSO as a Board Observer. Rivian continues to hold a significant minority stake in ALSO.
ALSO was initially developed within Rivian before being launched as a distinct small-EV company. The company’s premise is that the last mile of delivery, involving bike lanes and dense urban areas, requires vehicles specifically designed for such environments rather than adapting existing full-size vehicles for autonomy. Their current offerings include the TM-B, a $3,500 e-bike with a virtual drivetrain, and the TM-Q, a four-wheeled cargo EV designed for transport within bike lanes. The specific vehicles to be used in the DoorDash partnership have not been disclosed, although the TM-Q seems a likely choice for large-scale food delivery due to its cargo capacity.
This partnership stands out due to its structure. Typically, autonomous delivery investments come with a financial stake and vague intent for deployment. DoorDash’s commitment involves a concrete commercial timeline, allowing ALSO to utilize a major operator’s network as a practical testing ground. DoorDash, with over 30% of its U.S. monthly active users engaging in grocery and retail orders beyond restaurants, is motivated to lower per-delivery labor costs as it grows. Tang suggests that autonomous small EVs are ideal for dense, multi-use environments, addressing delivery challenges that conventional autonomous platforms have yet to resolve.
ALSO aims to launch its initial products in the U.S. by 2026, followed by international expansion. The Series C funding, coupled with the DoorDash commercial agreement, positions ALSO to be one of the first to seriously attempt deploying purpose-built autonomous small EVs through a partner with substantial order volume, rather than in limited pilot settings.