Rivian CEO and founder RJ Scaringe wants the company to become more than an electric vehicle maker, with ambitions to license its technology to other brands.
Speaking to TechCrunch, Scaringe said he wants to expand Rivian's joint venture with Volkswagen Group to cover AI and autonomy, and to license Rivian's tech to "many different brands." The $5.8 billion joint technology venture with VW Group currently focuses on electric architecture and software.
Rivian has developed its own AI models to power its in-vehicle assistant and is building an end-to-end automated driving stack for its passenger vehicles and future robotaxis through a partnership with Uber. It is also developing custom silicon, a 5 nm processor, in collaboration with Arm and TSMC.
Scaringe's ambitions extend beyond Rivian. He created a micromobility skunkworks programme that has spun out into a startup called Also, and he founded an industrial robotics startup called Mind Robotics, which is now 31% owned by Rivian and counts the automaker as a prospective customer. Scaringe announced onstage that former Ford, Apple and Tesla executive Doug Field has been hired as president of Mind Robotics.
Asked about Rivian's future, Scaringe said: "Where it gets really interesting is then you think beyond R2 and R3 and start to imagine the form factors that you want to build for a personally owned autonomous vehicle. You know, it opens up all kinds of design opportunities. It can create dramatically different experiences."