Rivian has created another subsidiary called Mind Robotics

Rivian created its second subsidiary this year: an industrial AI and robotics venture called Mind Robotics.

The new effort will center around using “industrial AI to reshape how companies operate in the physical world and leverage Rivian’s operations data as the basis for a robotics data flywheel,” according to the company’s third-quarter shareholder letter published Tuesday. (That’s a whole lot of buzzwords; we’ve asked Rivian to clarify things a bit more and will update the post if that happens.)

Rivian said Tuesday it had secured about $110 million in “external seed capital,” but did not immediately provide any further information about Mind Robotics. “We believe that AI-enabled robots can support a wide range of industrial applications,” Rivian wrote in the letter.

The launch of Mind Robotics marks the second time this year that Rivian has created a new, independent company. In March, the company spun off its skunkworks micromobility division into a startup also called Inc. This new company has been partly funded with funds from Eclipse, with additional funding from Greenoaks Capital.

A trademark application for Mind Robotics was filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Monday that lists Eclipse partner Jiten Behl as one of the signatories of the newly created company, along with Eclipse’s Palo Alto headquarters as the company’s address. Behl did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

It’s unclear whether Rivian employees will move to Mind Robotics, as was the case as well. A Rivian spokesman declined to comment. But the company hinted at this possibility in a letter Tuesday.

“With our strong pipeline of technology talent and innovation-driven culture, we have been able to identify additional areas of value to more broadly accelerate our mission while maintaining Rivian’s focus,” Scaringe wrote.

Robotics and industrial AI are hot areas for investment right now. There are a slew of humanoid robotics companies raising money and trying to ship products, including Tesla. GM is also working on its own robotics and artificial intelligence division.

Other than Rivian’s announcement on Tuesday, very little is known about what Mind Robotics will do. There is no digital footprint for the company yet, except for the brand application. This application is being targeted very broadly, and he says Mind Robotics could use the brand on everything from machines to vehicles to “egg incubators.”