Rivian's pivot to tech supplier

Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe is making it clear that he isn't just trying to build the next popular electric truck or SUV. After sitting down with him at TechCrunch Disrupt, it’s obvious his vision for the company is a massive pivot: he wants Rivian to become a full-blown "tech supplier."

Right now, Rivian is moving from a car company to a vertically integrated machine. They're building their own AI for in-car assistants, developing an end-to-end automated driving stack (with some help from a partnership with Uber), and even creating their own 5nm processors with Arm and TSMC. Plus, they’ve got that $5.8 billion joint venture with VW Group, which is all about shared software and electric architecture.

The side hustles are leveling up

Scaringe is also leaning into robotics. He founded an industrial robotics startup called Mind Robotics, which is already 31% owned by Rivian. He just brought on industry heavyweight Doug Field—who has resumes at Tesla, Apple, and Ford—to serve as the startup's president. The plan? Build robots for Rivian’s own factories and eventually sell them to other companies.

He’s also looking to license Rivian’s internal tech stacks—like their AI and autonomy systems—to other brands. When asked about the future of Rivian’s fleet, Scaringe hinted that once you factor in autonomy, the design possibilities for "personally owned autonomous vehicles" are endless. He told TechCrunch, "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."

Why it matters

Real talk: the car industry is lowkey dying to transition into a tech industry, and Rivian is trying to avoid the "just a car maker" trap. By spreading their tech across AI, robotics, and software, they’re trying to build a moat that makes them essential to other manufacturers. If Scaringe pulls this off, Rivian won't just be an EV nameplate—they'll be the operating system for the next generation of transportation. It’s giving main character energy for the future of mobility, no cap.