Rivian and Volkswagen have announced a joint venture, with Volkswagen set to invest $5 billion in the electric vehicle maker.

Rivian has emerged as one of the most successful challengers to Tesla, with the automaker already supplying 10,000 vehicles to Amazon, with plans for a total of 100,000. The EV maker is getting a major boost from its newly-announced joint venture with Volkswagen, while the German automaker will be able to jump start its EV ambitions.

The partnership is anticipated to accelerate the development of software for Rivian and Volkswagen Group. It is expected to allow both companies to combine their complementary strengths and lower cost per vehicle by increasing scale and speeding up innovation globally.

Both companies aim to launch vehicles benefiting from the technology created within the joint venture in the second half of the decade. In the short term, the joint venture is expected to enable Volkswagen Group to utilize Rivian’s existing electrical architecture and software platform. The partnership’s ambition is to accelerate Volkswagen Group’s SDV plans and transition to a pure zonal architecture. Each company will continue to separately operate their respective vehicle businesses.

Volkswagen’s initial investment will be $1 billion, with the company expected to invest a total of $5 billion

“Our customers benefit from the targeted partnership with Rivian to create a leading technology architecture,” said Oliver Blume, CEO of Volkswagen Group. “Through our cooperation, we will bring the best solutions to our vehicles faster and at lower cost. We are also acting in the best interest of our strong brands, which will inspire with their iconic products. The partnership fits seamlessly with our existing software strategy, our products, and partnerships. We are strengthening our technology profile and our competitiveness.”

“We’re very excited to be partnering with Volkswagen Group,” added RJ Scaringe, Founder and CEO of Rivian. “Since the earliest days of Rivian, we have been focused on developing highly differentiated technology, and it’s exciting that one of the world’s largest and most respected automotive companies has recognized this. Not only is this partnership expected to bring our software and associated zonal architecture to an even broader market through Volkswagen Group’s global reach, but this partnership also is expected to help secure our capital needs for substantial growth. Rivian was created to help the world to transition away from fossil fuels through compelling products and services, and this partnership is beautifully aligned with that mission.”