What began as a quiet internal project within Libian has stepped into the spotlight as its own independent company. Also, Inc. marks a larger bet on Libian’s electric micromobility. Think of a small vehicle, such as a bike, a scooter, or a compact vehicle built towards the streets of the city.
The spin-out is backed by $105 million, led by Eclipse Ventures, with Libian holding a minority stake. Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe remains close to the project as chairman of the board, formerly being president of Rivian’s future programmes Chris Yu.
The move comes just four months after former President Biden extended his $6 billion lifeline to a struggling EV startup as he faced mounting unsold inventory on dealer lots.
“What started out as a stealth team within @Rivian is now a company of its own. Various small electrical form factors are also needed to truly move the world to sustainable and accessible transportation. The first product will be launched in early 2026.
Libian’s Stealth Micromobility Project is now available
Before the Rivian electric truck hit the road, Sculling was already thinking about micromobility. Around 2019, that mindset changed from places like Apple, Google, Specialized, Uber, REI to a crude internal program that put together a small group of engineers and designers. Their goal: Understand whether Libian’s technology can be reduced to something smaller and more affordable.
After all, that’s possible. And the results were bigger than Libian expected. “Looking at our cities, infrastructure can’t drive large vehicles, but there’s still a need for mobility,” said Jiten Behl, former growth officer at Libian, who led the fundraising effort at Eclipse. “We need something different, something smaller, something more flexible.”
“To fully move the world to electrified transportation, there will be a variety of vehicle types and form factors,” Scaringe said in a news release. “We are extremely excited about the innovations developed by the team behind highly compelling micromobility products that will help define new categories.”
By 2022, Chrisyu, a specialized former Chief Product and High Tech Officer, joined in to lead the stealth team. The group grew quietly, and work was limited to laps except that the 2022 trademarks were submitted to bikes and e-bikes.
That’s changing now.
Also, Inc. is building a line of electric vehicles starting with products like bicycles that are scheduled to debut in early 2026. Skale previewed some clues about the first model. “There are seats, two wheels, there are screens, there are several computers and batteries.” That first product will be launched in the US and Europe with plans to expand into future Asia and South America.
The idea is to bring Libian-level quality to micromobility without a premium price tag. Scaringe was not at its current market condition. “It’s as amazing as the cost of a nice e-Bike. You can spend $6,000-$8,000 over $10,000, like a nice e-Bike.
Still, not everyone is sure if the market needs another e-bike startup, namely Libyan branding. “I already have some e-tricks in my garage. There is already a wide market for e-bikes and e-tricks in the 2k-3k range,” said Carol Bennett, one of the social media outlets.
The team also includes around 70 people and operates independently, but not completely blocked from Libian. Companies may share several resources, such as retailers, technology, or logistics, if that makes sense.
Meanwhile, Libian continues to focus on expanding its core business. The R2 Midsize SUV is still on track, with production sets that are expected to be regular Illinois, Illinois and customer delivery in the first half of 2026.
Additionally, details of the product line and launch plans are scheduled for later this year. The team is quieting the final design for now, but one thing is clear. Libian’s micromobility experiments have become a full-scale business.
RJ Scaringe, founder and CEO of Rivian
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