SAN FRANCISCO – Rivian has acquired Swedish EV route planning app maker Iternio so as to add its expertise to its electrical pickups and sport utility automobiles, as properly use its information to higher increase its personal charging community, its CEO instructed Reuters on Wednesday.

Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe didn’t disclose the worth of the deal however mentioned it was closed within the first quarter.

This comes after Reuters reported first on Tuesday on Rivian’s plan to undertake Tesla’s charging commonplace for its automobiles in addition to its personal small fast-charging community, giving prospects entry to the most important U.S. charging community and Rivian a big income stream from Tesla customers.

Iternio’s app – known as A Higher Routeplanner (ABRP) and well-liked with EV house owners in North America and Europe – gives route calculation companies that take into consideration climate situations, charging stops, automobile weight and different components.

Scaringe mentioned Rivian would put money into enhancing and rising ABRP as a stand-alone app for customers of different EVs and combine Iternio’s expertise into its cell app and in-vehicle navigation system.

“The info that comes off of getting a really lively person base permits us to be very intentional as to how we construct out a charging infrastructure,” Scaringe mentioned, including that information on places that lack chargers or have chargers with poor efficiency can be notably helpful.

Iternio was based in 2018 and operates two strains of enterprise: the ABRP app on the consumer-facing aspect and a again finish the place it gives routing information companies for different entities.

“Fixing broad-scale adoption of electrification requires a stage of collaboration, notably on charging, that is not typical for automotive,” Scaringe mentioned, referring to the offers with market chief Tesla and Iternio.