TechCrunch Mobility: Rivian’s survival plan involves more than just cars

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Senior reporter Sean O’Kane stopped by Palo Alto to check out Rivian’s Autonomy and AI Day. According to some insiders, this will be the most important event for the company. I don’t know if it’s okay to classify it that way, but how about having journalists in the field evaluate it?

Via Sean after the event (and some of my thoughts sprinkled in as well)…

Rivian’s Autonomy & AI Day this week sometimes got lost in buzzwords. However, the underlying message was clearly shared. The idea is that Rivian is building a company that does more than just sell cars.

Not as advanced as Tesla. For example, there were no humanoid robots roaming around the company’s Palo Alto campus.

But it’s clear that they’re building other revenue-generating products, and advanced driver assistance is at the starting gate.

The hands-free version of Rivian’s driver-assistance software is currently available on approximately 135,000 miles of roads, with plans to expand to 3.5 million miles to include road surfaces. This enhancement is expected to launch in early 2026 and eventually include point-to-point hands-free (but supervised) autonomous driving, and will cost $2,500 or $49.99 per month.

And in the future there will be a hands-off, eyes-off system. Rivian has revealed that it has developed its own custom 5nm processor and says it will be built in collaboration with both Arm and TSMC. The chip powers Rivian’s “autonomous computer,” the backbone of an upgraded self-driving system that will debut in the R2 SUV in late 2026.

There will probably be an additional fee, but Rivian declined to say whether it would exceed the $2,500 fee.

But there is also another scenario we should consider. It means licensing our technology to other companies.

After all, Rivian already has a joint venture with Volkswagen Group, sharing electrical architecture and base-level software. And Rivian spun out two startups this year: Also (mobility) and Mind Robotics (industrial AI and robotics).

Barclays’ Dan Levy wrote Friday that “subsequent discussions reaffirmed the hope and possibility” that Rivian would license its entire AV platform or just components such as customs processing equipment. And when I asked CEO RJ Scaringe if Rivian would sell the processor to Mind Robotics, he replied with a wry smile: “It doesn’t take a lot of imagination.”

At the most abstract level, it makes sense to add new revenue streams to your existing car business (especially if those new projects work well with cars). Who doesn’t love money more?

Reports regarding the event are as follows:

Rivian is building its own AI assistant (Learn more about the technology). It is also scheduled to be introduced to EVs in early 2026.

Rivian uses custom silicon, LIDAR, and robotaxi tips to significantly enhance autonomy

small bird

Nothing this week. I should say thanks to everyone for the tips, but I don’t have anything to share yet.

In the meantime, here’s a little tip. As you read above, senior reporter Sean O’Kane was at Rivian’s AI & Autonomy Day, and one of the whispers he heard was about a public demo of the company’s AI assistant, and concerns that it wouldn’t work. Apparently, the test on the morning of the event was a bit challenging.

Unfortunately, the public demo went off without a hitch, although there were some tense moments at the beginning. Many companies avoid public demos because they are risky. Kudos to Rivian for pulling it off.

Any tips? Email Kirsten Korosec at kirsten.Korosec@techcrunch.com, email my Signal at korosec.07, or email Sean O’Kane at sean.okane@techcrunch.com.

Great deal!

At the beginning of 2025, I never thought TechCrunch would publish the story of aviation startups meeting data centers. But here we are.

Aviation startup Boom Supersonic has kicked off 2025 by breaking the sound barrier with its XB-1 demonstration commercial aircraft. And the company is ending the year with plans to sell a version of its turbine engine as a stationary power plant. The first customer will be data center startup Crusoe.

Under the deal, Crusoe will purchase 29 of Boom’s 42-megawatt turbines for $1.25 billion to generate 1.21 gigawatts for the data center.

Boom has raised $300 million to help commercialize this new business. The round was led by Darsana Capital Partners with participation from Altimeter Capital, Ark Invest, Bessemer Venture Partners, Robinhood Ventures, and Y Combinator.

The plan is to use the proceeds from the superpower stationary turbine project to fund the development of supersonic aircraft.

Other sales that caught my attention…

Self-driving truck company Aurora Innovation has signed a commercial agreement with Detmer Logistics to autonomously transport frac sand in the Permian Basin.

Some deals may not necessarily work out or are subject to change. Take SK On and Ford for example.

Four years ago, Ford and South Korean battery maker SK On formed a joint venture and signed an $11.4 billion agreement to build factories in Tennessee and Kentucky to produce batteries for the next generation of electric F-Series trucks. The joint venture has now ended and the two companies will split their assets. Ford will take over ownership and operations of twin battery factories in Kentucky, while SK On will operate the plant at the massive BlueOval SK campus in Tennessee.

Vatn Systems, a Rhode Island-based startup developing autonomous underwater vehicles, has raised $60 million in a Series A funding round led by BVVC.

Notable reads and other trivia

700 Credit, which operates a credit reporting and identity verification service for auto dealers across the United States, announced that at least 5.6 million people had their names, addresses, dates of birth, and Social Security numbers stolen in a data breach.

The former CEO of bankrupt EV startup Canoe had promised to help NASA and the U.S. Postal Service keep the van in use. Apparently, that wasn’t a convincing argument. NASA and USPS have stopped using them.

Ford and Renault have agreed to work together to bring two affordable Ford-branded vehicles to the European market in 2028. Ford will lead the design, while Renault will assemble the vehicle at a factory in northern France.

Lucid is being sued by former chief engineer Eric Buck, alleging wrongful termination, discrimination and retaliation. Bach, who is of German descent, also claims that one of the automaker’s human resources executives called him a “German Nazi.”

Subaru has announced the Uncharted EV, and its specs may attract buyers. The Uncharted Premium Trim EV has a range of 300 miles and a hefty price tag of over $36,000. Could it be a deal killer among Subie’s die-hard fans? The premium version is front-wheel drive only.

A pregnant woman in San Francisco gave birth in a Waymo robotaxis on the way to UCSF Medical Center. No, this isn’t the first baby born at Waymo. Read on to learn more.

Meanwhile, on the Waymo news side, a leaked letter from Tiger Global Management to investors revealed that Waymo is now offering 450,000 robotaxis rides a week, nearly double the amount it announced in the spring of this year. Waymo declined to comment.

Zevo wants to add robotaxis to its car-sharing fleet, starting with new entrant Tensor. Senior reporter Sean O’Kane digs into it.

One more thing…

I asked and you answered. Thank you to all the readers who took part in the last survey. Just to be sure, I asked: The pace of development of self-driving cars is accelerating, leading to more scrutiny and questions about safety and accountability. Should companies stay put, expand faster, or pump the brakes?

Approximately 48% chose to continue. Nearly 23% are choosing to scale faster, and 29.4% of readers want companies to hit the brakes.