Rivian Automotive has announced the creation of a new spinoff company called Mind Robotics, which will specialize in industrial artificial intelligence and robotics. This new venture is actually Rivian’s second major spinoff this year, the company recently spun out Also Inc, a micromobility startup. The announcement comes on the heels of Rivian’s third-quarter shareholder letter, also released Tuesday. In it, CEO RJ Scaringe focused on the long-term strategic priorities for the company.
Mind Robotics has announced a successful $115 million seed funding round led by venture capital firm Eclipse. Jiten Behl, a partner at Eclipse and a former Rivian engineer, announced the investment on LinkedIn. This announcement is further evidence of the strong market confidence in Mind Robotics’ potential to innovate in next-gen AI and intelligent robotics opportunities.
In their written communication to investors, and in particular when writing to investors, RJ Scaringe made this point crystal clear. “With our strong bench of technology talent and an innovation-driven culture, we have been able to identify additional areas of value to accelerate our mission on a wider scale while maintaining Rivian’s focus,” he stated. This commitment to innovation suggests that Rivian is keen on leveraging its technological expertise to explore new markets beyond electric vehicles.
Mind Robotics’ main focus is using AI and robotics for a productive, large industry. Scaringe elaborated on the rationale for creating this spinoff, noting, “So the creation of this company is ultimately the culmination of us coming to the view that we wanted to have direct control and direct influence over the design and development of advanced AI robotics that would be very focused on industrial applications.” This represents a smart and strategic move towards growing Rivian’s presence in a quickly changing and highly competitive technological arena.
The opportunity to unleash AI-powered solutions that will transform industries is immense. Scaringe acknowledged this transformative potential by stating, “As much as we’ve seen AI shift how we operate and run our businesses through the wide-ranging applications for LLMs, the potential for AI to really shift how we think about operating in the physical world is, in some ways, unimaginably large.” Providing this kind of perspective would be a welcome sign that federal players are looking ahead and keeping pace with general trends in technological innovation.
Mind Robotics follows Rivian’s first spinoff, Also Inc., which carved off from the company last fall. Founded this past March, Also received investments from Eclipse Ventures and Greenoaks Capital. Rivian’s strategy of developing such spinoffs shows that the company is serious about diversifying its business model. This approach gives the firm the flexibility to grab fast growing opportunities within every industry sector.
Whatever lies ahead, Mind Robotics certainly has an exciting future ahead. A Rivian spokesperson declined to provide further specifics about the spinoff, raising a host of questions about its operational plans and long-term goals. For Rivian, it’s full speed ahead on its path to profitability. The news sent industry observers, such as Sean O’Kane, who’s covered Rivian, Amazon, and other transportation startups with a hawkeye’s focus, closely watching the developments around Mind Robotics.