Rivian announces new ambitions in AI technology, chips and robotaxis

Electric vehicle maker Rivian Cars Samsung has developed a custom chip, an in-car computer and new artificial intelligence models that will enable it to bring self-driving features to its upcoming vehicles, the company revealed at its first “Autonomy and AI Day” on Thursday in Palo Alto, California.

Rivian shares fell nearly 3% during the hour-long event, and fell further as OpenAI made its AI announcement on Thursday, revealing its most advanced model yet.

Rivian also said it plans to roll out an Autonomy+ subscription with “ever-increasing capabilities” to customers of second-generation vehicles in early 2026, to be powered by Rivian Autonomy processors and standalone computers.

The Autonomy+ offering will be priced at $2,500 as a one-time upfront purchase or available for $49.99 per month to get started. In comparison, competitor Tesla It offers a premium FSD (supervision) option for $8,000 up front or a fee of $99 per month.

“AI is enabling us to create technology and customer experiences at a completely different rate than we’ve seen in the past,” RJ Scaringe, founder and CEO of Rivian, said during the hour-long event.

Company executives said in a statement that a software update in the near future will include “hands-free” capability, allowing Rivian customers to “drive hands-free” on more than 3.5 million miles of road in North America, covering the vast majority of designated roads in the United States.

Scaring said the new advanced driver assistance system will continue to improve as more miles are driven, learning through the data flywheel through reinforcement learning.

Unlike its primary competitor, Tesla, Rivian said it intends to use lidar, or light detection and ranging, systems and radar sensors in its upcoming “R2” cars to enable “Level 4,” or fully automated driving, as defined by SAE levels of driving automation.

A passenger can sleep in the back seat of a Level 4 self-driving car while being transported to their destination in normal traffic and weather conditions. Waymo, alphabetOwned by the leading US robotaxi company, Robotaxi considers its vehicles to be Level 4.

Scaringe said Thursday that the company’s upcoming self-driving vehicles will enable the company to pursue robotaxis, which Tesla has promised for years but has yet to launch.

“Now, while our initial focus will be on personally owned vehicles, which today account for the vast majority of miles into the U.S., this also allows us to pursue opportunities in the ride-sharing space,” Scaring said during the event.

Rivian isn’t alone in aiming to deliver self-driving systems that meet Level 4 expectations, with partially automated features rolled out along the way for drivers who generally want to reduce fatigue during long trips or make them safer behind the wheel overall.

Tesla and GM They are working on their own driverless systems, while… Honda, clear Nissan has partnered with venture-backed autonomous vehicle technology startups (Helm.AI, Nuro, and Wayve, respectively) to develop similar systems with a range of different technical approaches.

Supporting Rivian’s self-driving aspirations will be a new in-house chip developed by the company, scheduled to launch in 2026. The chip uses a “multi-chip module” package and has “high memory bandwidth,” which is “key for AI applications,” said Vidya Rajagopalan, Rivian’s vice president of electrical appliances. The Rivian chip has a bandwidth of 205 Gbps.

“Rivian is uniquely positioned to move from a software-defined vehicle to an AI-defined vehicle world,” said Waseem Bin Saeed, chief software officer at Rivian.

The automaker also announced its new AI-powered “Rivian Assistant,” a next-generation voice interface that will launch in early 2026 on first- and second-generation vehicles.

Rivian is under pressure to prove its future growth potential to investors and grow its customer base amid slowing sales of battery electric vehicles in the United States and competition from Chinese electric vehicle makers internationally.

The all-electric vehicle sector saw sales decline domestically after the Trump administration put an early end in September to a $7,500 federal tax credit previously available to buyers of electric vehicles in the United States.

Rivian shares are up about 25% this year, but have remained down more than 80% since the company’s initial public offering in 2021 amid internal and external challenges.