Rivian’s latest acquisition aims to make EV route planning better

Rivian acquired the company behind A Better Routeplanner, a popular route-planning app used by EV drivers, the company confirmed Wednesday.

Rivian didn’t disclose financial terms of the deal to buy Iternio, the Swedish company that developed A Better Routeplanner, otherwise known as ABRP.  The acquisition was first reported earlier this month by Electrek.

ABRP, a consumer-facing app that calculates the best route for EV drivers, using information about the vehicle, weather conditions, traffic and real-time charger data, was started in 2016 as a hobby project by Bo Lincoln, who went on to found Iternio in 2018. While ABRP has a popular following, the real value for Rivian is Iternio’s EV planning API and cloud service for businesses. The largest customer of the API is ABRP.

ABRP will remain a stand-alone app, Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe said in a statement.

“A Better Routeplanner leads the way in EV trip planning and is an important platform for driving EV adoption, which is why it’s so important for us to keep the platform open for all,” Scaringe said, adding that Rivian will integrate ABRP’s capabilities into its upcoming trip planning release.

Iternio’s EV planning API will be integrated into Rivian’s app and its infotainment system. The technology has been integrated in Polestar 2 since 2021.

The data captured by the technology will also provide insights on where there is insufficient reliable charging and help Rivian strategically plan where to prioritize building its Rivian Adventure Network,” Scaringe added.

The announcement comes less than a week since Rivian said it would adopt Tesla’s North American Charging Standard.