Rivian is gearing up for a major software reveal this week. After nearly two years of under-the-radar development, the EV automaker will reportedly debut a new in-vehicle AI assistant during its AI & Autonomy Day livestream on December 11 — another sign that the automaker is doubling down on its own platforms rather than relying on big-tech partnerships.
According to interview by TechCrunch with Rivian’s software leadership, the assistant has been built almost entirely in-house, with custom AI models designed to control and interact with virtually every vehicle function. This is not a simple voice command feature layered on top of the UI — Rivian says the system is meant to deeply understand the vehicle environment and learn individual driver preferences over time.
The AI assistant uses a hybrid approach that splits computing between the vehicle and the cloud. Less-intensive tasks are handled locally on Rivian’s new zonal electrical architecture, while more complex processing taps into remote servers.
Rivian calls this an “agentic framework” — a structure that allows multiple models to work together seamlessly through an orchestration layer, ensuring that decisions about climate, navigation, and vehicle controls don’t conflict.
“We use what the industry loves to now call an agentic framework, but we thought about that architecture since very early so that we can interface with different models,” explained Rivian software chief Wassym Bensaid.
What makes this move especially notable is what it isn’t connected to. Rivian confirmed the AI assistant program is separate from its $5.8 billion joint venture with Volkswagen. That deal focuses on shared electrical architecture and infotainment systems — not artificial intelligence or autonomy features.
That separation strongly suggests Rivian views its AI assistant as a core differentiator and a competitive advantage it doesn’t want to hand over.
Rivian hasn’t confirmed rollout timing, but Bensaid earlier indicated the goal is to put the AI assistant into customer hands before the end of the year. The R1S and R1T already saw significant hardware and software upgrades in 2024, giving Rivian a clean foundation to deploy new capabilities like this.
We’ll likely get answers soon. Rivian’s AI & Autonomy Day livestream kicks off December 11 at 9 a.m. PT on the company’s YouTube channel.
