Rivian's Next Act: From EV Maker to Tech Supplier

Rivian is building a custom 5-nanometer processor with Arm and TSMC, runs a $5.8 billion joint technology venture with VW Group, and its CEO wants to license the company's tech to "many different brands." CEO and founder RJ Scaringe laid out that vision in an interview at TechCrunch Disrupt, and it points to a company that looks very different by the end of the decade.

The shorthand: Rivian is becoming a tech supplier, not just an EV maker. Here's what practitioners should track.

What does Scaringe actually want Rivian to become?

Scaringe wants Rivian to be much more than an EV maker, but he doesn't want to abandon that core mission either. Over the past year, Rivian has grown far more vertically integrated. It has developed its own AI models to power its in-vehicle assistant, and it's building an end-to-end automated driving stack for passenger vehicles and future robotaxis through a partnership with Uber.

The VW joint venture, worth $5.8 billion, covers electric architecture and software. Scaringe said onstage he wants to expand it to cover AI and autonomy as well, alongside licensing Rivian's tech to other brands.

Where do the side ventures fit?

Scaringe's ambitions extend beyond Rivian, but always with a link back:

• Also — a micromobility skunkworks program that spun out into a standalone startup.
• Mind Robotics — an industrial robotics startup Scaringe founded; Rivian owns 31% and counts itself as a prospective customer. Former Ford, Apple and Tesla executive Doug Field has been hired as president, Scaringe announced onstage.

Mind Robotics is building industrial robots for use in Rivian factories and for sale to other companies. The robotaxi business could compound the same way — a successful launch with Uber could open the door to more deals.

What does autonomy change for Rivian's own vehicles?

Scaringe is already imagining how autonomy could reshape Rivian's product line beyond the upcoming R2 and R3.

"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," Scaringe told TechCrunch.

He added: "I'm wildly excited about what the next 10 years look like in transportation because of what this enables us to dream and think about."

The week's mobility deals

• Bedrock Robotics, which develops autonomous driving tech for construction vehicles, is raising $600 million, Axios reported, citing sources.
• Dot Ai completed its acquisition of EV car-sharing business Envoy Technologies in a $65 million all-stock transaction, per a regulatory filing.
• Evos, which builds AI agents for industrial businesses including freight brokerages, raised $9 million in a pre-seed round co-led by Uncork Capital and Field Ventures.
• Mana Battery, a Colorado startup developing anode-free sodium batteries, raised $10.15 million led by Voyager Ventures.
• PlusAI and Texas Ventures Acquisition III filed a Form S-4 with the SEC, advancing their previously announced plan to go public via SPAC merger.
• Volvo is expanding its nearly decade-long partnership with Nvidia to offer hands-free, point-to-point driving on highways and surface streets. Neither company shared financial terms.
• Waabi landed a commercial partnership with carrier Warrior Logistics; Waabi's self-driving trucks will move freight between Dallas and Houston.

Quick hits

• Waymo is expanding into Canada — specifically Toronto — after receiving approval to join an automated vehicle pilot program. It has also dropped waitlists for its robotaxi service in San Antonio, San Diego and Tampa.
• Tesla showcased its SpaceX-powered Roadster with a kickflip stunt using high-powered fans and thrusters. CEO Elon Musk claims the vehicle will be on the road by 2028 — though whether such maneuvers would be legal on public streets is another matter.
• LNK Energies, an MIT startup, says it has created a way to convert existing heavy-duty trucks from diesel to hydrogen, cutting pollution and costs while shielding operators from price spikes.
• Laplace Intelligence, one of 20 startups in TechCrunch's Startup Battlefield 200, is building automated red-teaming that stress-tests robots and self-driving cars.
• US electric vehicle sales are showing signs of life.

The through-line for the industry: autonomy licensing and robotics are becoming revenue lines, not research projects. Rivian's bet is that the same tech powering its trucks will be worth more sold to everyone else.

By Nathan Brooks