Rivian’s CEO told Reuters that it had acquired Swedish EV route planning software provider Iternio to use its technology in its electric trucks and SUVs and expand its charging network.
Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe said the deal closed in the first quarter but did not disclose its value.
On Tuesday, Reuters revealed Rivian’s proposal to embrace Tesla’s (TSLA.O) charging standard and establish a small fast-charging network, giving clients access to the largest U.S. charging network and Rivian a significant revenue stream from Tesla users.
Iternio’s North American and European EV app, A Better Routeplanner (ABRP), generates routes using weather, charging stations, car weight, and other factors.
Scaringe said Rivian would enhance ABRP as stand-alone software for other EV owners and integrate Iternio’s technology into its mobile app and in-vehicle navigation system.
“The data that comes off having a very active user base allows us to be very intentional as to how we build out a charging infrastructure,” Scaringe added. Helpful data on sites without chargers or bad performance.
Iternio’s consumer-facing ABRP app and back-end routing data services were founded in 2018.
“Solving broad-scale adoption of electrification requires a level of collaboration, particularly on charging, that’s not typical for automotive,” Scaringe said of the arrangements with market leader Tesla and Iternio.