Rivian debuts new self-driving upgrade and AI chip to compete with rivals

Rivian (RIVN) introduced a major overhaul of its technology platform at its first Autonomy & AI Day, highlighting a new autonomous driving system supported by in-house silicon and an AI assistant built on the company’s Unified Intelligence framework.

The software upgrade centers on the Autonomy platform and a Large Driving Model trained in a manner similar to large language models. Rivian said these tools will enable Universal Hands-Free assisted driving on second-generation R1 vehicles.

The company will offer the capability through a subscription called Autonomy+. It will launch in early 2026 for a one-time fee of $2,500 or a monthly price of $49.99. Rivian shares fell more than 6% following the announcement.

Rivian said its existing driver assistance features include adaptive cruise control and lane keeping. The new platform is designed to expand those functions and support future advances. CEO RJ Scaringe said updated hardware will allow significant progress toward eventual Level 4 autonomous driving. He cited a scenario in which a vehicle could independently collect passengers.

Hands-free systems are already available from GM, Ford, and Tesla. Rivian said its second-generation R1 and upcoming R2 vehicles will see steady improvements aimed at reaching Level 4 capability, though it gave no timeline. Level 4 systems, such as those used in Waymo’s robotaxis, can operate without human input in defined areas. Waymo is growing its service zones, and Tesla is developing a robotaxi platform.

Rivian also revealed its first custom processor, the 5nm Rivian Autonomy Processor, or RAP1. The chip will run the company’s third-generation autonomy computer, known as the Autonomy Compute Module 3. Rivian plans to add lidar to future R2 models to enhance its multimodal sensing approach. The Gen 3 hardware package is in validation and is scheduled to ship on R2 vehicles at the end of 2026.

The company also launched its Rivian Unified Intelligence platform. It will power tools including the Rivian Assistant, a voice-based chatbot arriving in early 2026. The system will link with third-party apps, starting with Google Calendar, and will support multiple large language models.