Croatian entrepreneur Mate Rimac, the founder and CEO of electric supercar producer Rimac Automobili, has invested in Gruntek, a local innovative agri-digital project.
Gruntek (a diminutive of the local term for an estate, a farm) has developed an app allowing Croatians to rent small allotments. These plots are cultivated by professional gardeners who guarantee the tenants fresh, organic vegetables. Through the app, owners are able to monitor farm work, growth and ripening of the produce on their farms. They also can choose whether to harvest the plants themselves or have them delivered.
“In the second year of Gruntek, Mate Rimac, the known Croatian innovator and entrepreneur, has joined the gardens of the future. With this [he] helps Gruntek to implement great plans for the future and expansion on international markets,” Gruntek said without disclosing the size of the investment.
This is the first agro project in which Mate Rimac has invested. The Croatian is known for establishing Rimac Automobili in 2009 from a love for automotive and with the vision to create high-performance cars for the electric era.
The groundwork for the company was laid in 2007 as a hobby garage activity of Mate. Working on his own, he reinvented the way cars were engineered after his combustion engined 1984 BMW E30 blew during a race. Rather than replace it, he chose a much more challenging route to build his own electric powertrain – a journey that would see him spark a revolution in the automotive industry.
He has now grown Rimac Automobili from a specialist component manufacturer to a series production hypercar and technology powerhouse. The company’s first model, the Concept One, was the world’s fastest production electric vehicle.
Still guided by Mate’s unwavering quest for performance perfection and relentless enthusiasm
the Group is undertaking the construction of one of the largest R&D facilities in Europe, with the 100,000 m2 (on 200,000 m2 of land) Rimac Campus on the outskirts of Zagreb. This 200m EUR project will be home to both Bugatti Rimac and Rimac Technology, with a capacity for 2,500 employees, the production of 50 Nevera hypercars a year and tens of thousands of units of batteries, electric motors and more for Rimac Technology clients.
Last summer, VW Group’s Porsche and Rimac announced that they have agreed to create a joint venture that will incorporate Volkswagen’s high-performance Bugatti brand as well as Rimac Automobili. The venture is called Bugatti Rimac. Rimac Technology develops vehicle systems and technologies for many global OEMs. Nevera hypercar follows on from the Concept_One.
Mate’s journey from garage to global has seen him build a success story in less than a decade.
