Mate Rimac facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Mate Rimac
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Rimac in 2017
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| Born | 12 February 1988 |
| Alma mater | VERN University of Applied Science |
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| Spouse(s) |
Katarina Lovrić
(m. 2021) |
| Awards | Order of Danica Hrvatska |
Mate Rimac (born on February 12, 1988) is a Croatian inventor and business leader. He is the founder and CEO of the Rimac Group. This group includes Bugatti Rimac, which makes super-fast cars like Bugatti Automobiles and Rimac Automobili. It also has Rimac Technology, which creates special parts for other car companies. Mate also started Greyp Bikes, a company that makes cool electric bikes. This company was later bought by Porsche AG and is now called Porsche eBike Performance GmbH.
When Mate was in high school, he won many awards for his inventions and electronics projects. At just 19 years old, he turned an old 1984 BMW 3 Series into an electric car in his garage. This car even set several world records for electric vehicles! Later, in 2011, when he was 23, he built his very first all-electric supercar from scratch, called the Concept One.
His company, Rimac Automobili, grew from just a few people in 2011 to over 1,000 employees by 2020. Big companies like Porsche AG, Hyundai-Kia, and Camel Group have invested in his work. Besides making their own electric sports cars, Rimac also creates electric car parts and systems for many other car brands. They have worked with or made parts for Porsche, Hyundai, Kia, Renault, Jaguar, Aston Martin, SEAT, Koenigsegg, and Automobili Pininfarina. Rimac's second amazing car, designed and built by his team, is the Nevera.
Mate Rimac has always wanted to keep his business in Croatia. He has turned down offers to move his company to other countries. His goal is to bring car manufacturing to his home country. Motor Trend magazine named him one of the top players in the car industry. Forbes magazine also recognized him as one of the "Top 30 Under 30" best young business leaders in the world in 2017. He was also named the Croatian Entrepreneur of the Year in 2017.
Contents
Early Life and First Inventions
Mate Rimac was born in Livno, in what was then Yugoslavia, in 1988. His family moved to Frankfurt, Germany, in 1991 when he was three years old. They moved to get away from the difficult times in their home region. The family lived in Germany until 2000, then moved to Samobor, Croatia. There, Mate's father started a real estate business.
Moving from Germany to Croatia was tough for Mate. He found it hard to fit in and keep up at school. He was even teased for his accent. But Mate loved cars and technology. He spent a lot of time working on his own projects in his parents' garage. In high school, his teacher, Ivan Vlainić, encouraged him to join an electronics competition. Mate didn't expect much, but he won first prize! After that, he won at the national level, which led him to represent Croatia in global competitions for electronics and innovation.
In 2005, Mate built a device called the iGlove. It let you control a computer with a glove instead of a keyboard and mouse. Soon after, he invented the Active Mirror System. This was a rear-view mirror system that helped drivers see their blind spots. It won an award in Germany in 2006. By age 17, Mate had applied for two international patents for his inventions. He won many awards in international competitions before he turned 18. These wins happened in places like South Korea, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, Malaysia, and Croatia. Mate later studied at VERN University of Applied Science, getting a degree in Entrepreneurial Management in 2010.
Mate has said that his high school teacher, Ivan Vlainić, was very important. Without him pushing Mate to compete, he might never have built a company. Those early successes taught him how to build things and believe in himself. Mate loved cars his whole life and wanted to race. In 2006, at 18, he bought a 1984 BMW E30 323i. It was the cheapest way to start racing. But the gasoline engine broke during a race. So, Mate decided to turn it into an electric car. He was inspired by his hero, Nikola Tesla. Other racers made fun of him for bringing a "washing machine" to the track.
After many changes and seven different versions, the car became much faster. It started winning races and getting attention. People began to see the benefits of electric power and Mate's skills as an engineer. The car even set several world records with FIA and Guinness. Seeing how well electric cars could perform, Mate decided to start a company to build them. His first company was called VST Conversions. It turned regular cars into electric ones. This company later became Rimac Automobili, which Mate founded in September 2009, when he was 21.
Building Rimac Automobili
Even though the company started in 2009, Mate didn't have any employees until 2011. In 2010, he met Adriano Mudri, a designer at General Motors. Mate suggested they work together to create an electric supercar. They agreed and started working on the idea. Mate was a university student, and Adriano worked for GM. So, they both worked on the project at night and on weekends. Mate focused on the technology, and Adriano on the design.
By late 2010, they had their first drawings and plans for the car. At this time, Mate's electric BMW was getting media attention for winning races. This caught the eye of someone working for a royal family in the Middle East. They asked Mate for information about his supercar project. Mate and Adriano prepared a brochure with drawings and details. Soon, they got a call that the royal family wanted to buy two cars! But Mate didn't have a real company, employees, or money yet. He told them he couldn't build the car. The customers then offered to invest money to help him build it. Mate started working on a business plan and soon got an offer from the investors.
Mate was struggling to pay salaries, rent, and suppliers. He was trying to build the first Concept_One car with a new team. He really needed the investor money. But Mate decided to refuse the offer if it meant moving his company out of Croatia. Because of this, he lost his only investors. Years later, he said, "It was the best thing I've ever done." This choice allowed him to keep his company in Croatia. With no other options, Mate decided to find engineering work for other companies. This brought in money while he kept developing his own car. Rimac started building batteries, electric power systems, or even full vehicles for other car companies to survive. At the same time, they kept building their own supercars and looking for new investors.
Mate always wanted to show that it was possible to build a car company in Croatia. When he started at 21, he had no experience in the car industry. Croatia also had very little automotive industry. So, he couldn't hire experienced people. He also didn't have the money to bring in foreign experts. He asked the University for Mechanical Engineering in Zagreb for help. But a professor told him it was impossible to build a car in Croatia and that he should give up.
Mate presented their first model, the Rimac Concept_One, at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show. Adriano Mudri has worked with Mate ever since and is now Rimac's Director of Design.
In the early years, Rimac was always close to failing. It was hard to find investors to put money into a Croatian tech company. But after years of proving themselves, Rimac grew. Eventually, big companies like Porsche, Hyundai, and Kia invested a lot of money.
In 2018, Rimac showed its next-generation sports car, the Nevera. After more testing in 2020, production and deliveries to customers started in 2021. As of 2021, the company is based in Croatia. It has over 900 employees and is a leader in the competitive electric car industry. The company makes many of its own parts.
In November 2021, Mate Rimac became the CEO of Bugatti Rimac. This is a partnership between the Rimac Group, Bugatti, and Porsche AG.
Greyp Bikes
In 2013, Mate Rimac started Greyp Bikes. This was a sister company to Rimac Automobili. Its goal was to make high-performance electric bicycles. Mate wanted to "change the world" with these bikes.
Greyp now sells a variety of electric bikes. They won a Design Innovation Award for their technology. The bikes have a special "Central Intelligence Module" and an eSim. These keep the bike connected to the internet all the time. A special app lets riders use navigation, track their fitness, and look at data.
In February 2023, Porsche AG took full ownership of Greyp Bikes. The business is now known as Porsche eBike Performance GmbH.
Awards and Recognition
- 2014 Order of Danica Hrvatska (a Croatian award)
- 2017 EY Entrepreneur of the Year in Croatia
- 2017 Forbes Magazine Top 30 Under 30 (one of the best young business leaders)
Images for kids
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Rimac in 2017
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Rimac Concept One at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show
