Rivian and Volkswagen Group expanded their joint venture to include AI assistants. Rivian is licensing parts of its AI voice assistant to Volkswagen. The assistant may first appear in Volkswagen’s ID EVERY1 low-cost EV. Rivian developed the assistant in-house over two years. It rolled out to Rivian’s R1S, R1T and R2 vehicles in 2026. Rivian controls the full tech stack to enable rapid vehicle-wide updates. The joint venture was initially valued at up to $5 billion. Volkswagen later increased its commitment to $5.8 billion by 2027. Rivian did not disclose licensing fees or which VW models will use the tech.
What changed
The joint venture initially covered only electrical architecture and software.
What it unlocks
Volkswagen can now use Rivian’s AI voice assistant in its vehicles.
- $5.8 billion joint venture
- 17 to 7 electronic control units
- 2 years developing AI assistant
Sources