Rivian has made one of its boldest technological moves yet. The automaker has built its own artificial intelligence chip for automated driving, officially replacing Nvidia’s hardware as it works to expand hands-free and eventually eyes-off driving capabilities in future models. The development was first reported by Bloomberg, marking a major shift in Rivian’s long-term autonomy strategy.
Rivian’s New AI Chip: Faster, Cheaper, and Built In-House
The in-house chip, called the Rivian Autonomy Processor 1 (RAP1), is manufactured by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) and powers Rivian’s new Autonomy Compute Module 3. According to Bloomberg and additional reporting from Reuters, RAP1 delivers significantly higher performance compared to the Nvidia Orin system used in current R1 vehicles.
Rivian says the move dramatically boosts processing power for self-driving tasks while cutting hardware costs by several hundred dollars per vehicle. CEO RJ Scaringe described the chip as the result of “years-long commitment” to building a scalable AI platform for the company’s next wave of EVs.
The shift also positions Rivian in the same league as Tesla, which designs its own Full Self-Driving (FSD) chips. Industry analysts at The Verge note that more automakers are turning to custom silicon to reduce reliance on major chipmakers and create tightly integrated self-driving systems.
Unlike Tesla, Rivian Is All-In on Lidar
Rivian is taking a sharply different path from Tesla when it comes to sensors. While Tesla continues to pursue camera-only autonomy, Rivian is embracing lidar, arguing that the sensor provides essential redundancy and depth accuracy for real-world conditions.
The upcoming R2 SUV will eventually ship with both RAP1 and a new lidar unit, though early production units will not include the new hardware. Lidar pricing has fallen enough, Rivian says, to justify its inclusion in a mass-market EV — a stance supported by many robotics and autonomy experts referenced in TechCrunch and other industry outlets.
Hands-Free Driving Expands — and a New Subscription Begins
Rivian’s new software platform, Autonomy+, will offer expanded hands-free driving and future feature upgrades. Owners can subscribe for $49.99 per month or pay a $2,500 lifetime fee. Reuters notes that this positions Rivian well below Tesla’s pricing for FSD, which currently runs at $8,000 or $99 per month.
A major new rollout of Universal Hands Free will soon allow supervised hands-free driving across more than 3.5 million miles of mapped roads in the US and Canada — a massive expansion over the current system.
Rivian is also working toward point-to-point hands-free navigation, where the vehicle will make turns, lane changes, and intersection decisions with driver oversight. Full “eyes-off” capability remains a longer-term goal tied to future R2 software releases.
A High-Stakes Bet for a Company Under Pressure
Rivian’s investment in custom AI hardware comes at a challenging time. Production output remains lower than expected, and the company’s stock has fallen sharply from its post-IPO peak. Still, confidence from major partners such as Volkswagen — which recently committed nearly $6 billion to a software and electronics joint venture — underscores Rivian’s position as a long-term innovator in EV technology.
If RAP1 delivers the performance, cost savings, and long-term flexibility Rivian claims, the new chip could become one of the company’s most important competitive tools in the evolving EV market.
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