Rivian revealed that it is developing its own AI chips to power fully autonomous driving as part of its effort to match rival automakers.
During an ‘AI and Autonomy’ event held Thursday at its Silicon Valley headquarters, the company introduced a custom-built silicon chip alongside a suite of upcoming self-driving technologies.
Rivian stated that the advancements are aimed at delivering Level 4 autonomy in future models, including the addition of lidar sensors to its forthcoming R2 vehicles.
Company executives said in a statement that an upcoming software update will introduce a ‘Universal Hands-Free’ feature, allowing Rivian owners to drive hands-free on more than 3.5 million miles of roads across North America, covering most marked roads in the U.S.
The feature will be offered through a new subscription service called Autonomy+, set to debut early next year, priced at either a one-time fee of $2,500 or $49.99 per month.
Rivian also announced plans to introduce a new AI-powered voice assistant and a foundational ‘Large Driving Model,’ trained like large language models like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, designed to embed advanced driving strategies into the vehicle using vast datasets. All of these features will be bundled into the Autonomy Plus subscription service.
At the event, Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe said the company had reached an ‘inflection point,’ adding that the move is about “being able to give customers their time back when in the car.”
Rivian is under mounting investor pressure to compete with Tesla and other leaders in autonomous driving. The company continues to post multi-billion-dollar annual losses, even as it works to cut costs and accelerate software development through its $5 billion partnership with Volkswagen. Earlier this year, Rivian reported its first positive gross profit.
GENERAL | Ford, SK On End Battery JV as Plants Split Amid EV Slowdown
