Harbinger raised $240 million while moving into defense

Electric truck startup Harbinger raised $240 million in a Series D, TechCrunch reported on November 5, while expanding into battery storage and defense applications. Bloomberg reported the round first. TechCrunch, citing Bloomberg, and the company's own release put total funding at more than $650 million.

The round came about a year after Harbinger announced a $160 million Series C that included an initial truck order from FedEx. Tiger Global, Capricorn's Technology Impact Fund, and Ridgeline led the Series D together. TechCrunch describes Ridgeline as a defense focused firm. FedEx invested again after leading the Series C. Maniv, Greycroft, and Leitmotif, a venture firm backed by Volkswagen, invested again. Fidelity Management joined this round. TechCrunch says Fidelity tends to invest in startups before a public listing, and that Harbinger is reportedly weighing going public.

FedEx is now on the board as well as in the orders. Paul Melander, FedEx senior vice president of safety and transportation, joined Harbinger's board. FedEx also placed its first large order, 2,000 trucks valued at more than $300 million.

The company's release says Harbinger was founded in 2021. Its founders had worked at Canoo, the electric vehicle startup that has since shut down, and at battery company QuantumScape. It started by focusing on one electric truck chassis. Since then it has bought autonomy startup Phantom AI, begun developing hybrid emergency vehicles, and revealed a driverless hybrid electric platform for the military.