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As I wrapped my TechCrunch Disrupt interview with Rivian CEO and founder RJ Scaringe, I kept circling back to one question: What does Scaringe want Rivian to become? If you look at Rivian’s moves over the past year, it’s clear that Scaringe wants the company to be much more than an EV maker. But he doesn’t want to stray completely from that mission either.

Rivian is far more vertically integrated than it was just a couple of years ago. It has developed its own AI models to power its in-vehicle assistant and is building an end-to-end automated driving stack for its passenger vehicles and future robotaxis through a partnership with Uber. It’s even developing custom silicon, a 5 nm processor in collaboration with Arm and TSMC. And then there is its $5.8 billion joint technology venture with VW Group focused on electric architecture and software. 

Scaringe’s ambitions extend beyond Rivian as well, although there is always a link back. He created a micromobility skunkworks program that has since spun out into a startup called Also. And he founded an industrial robotics startup called Mind Robotics, which is now 31% owned by Rivian and counts the automaker as a prospective customer.

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