Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe stated at TechCrunch Disrupt that the company intends to allow its electric vehicles to run AI agents developed by other companies, such as Anthropic. This expands upon Rivian's recently launched in-house AI assistant, which enables voice interaction with vehicle functions.
Rivian has built its in-car software from the ground up, rather than relying on Apple CarPlay or Android Auto. This includes developing its own applications like navigation. The company has also created an in-house agentic framework that interprets user requests and routes them to the appropriate vehicle software components, handling tasks like temperature control or seat warmer activation.
Rivian's current AI agent can access external applications such as Google Calendar. Scaringe indicated that the next step involves integrating products from frontier AI companies. The system uses a 'traffic light' approach, deciding whether to use a local model on the vehicle or a cloud-based model for more complex queries.
Integrating third-party AI agents requires significant backend development and coordination with AI labs. Scaringe emphasized that safety is a primary concern, and agents will not be given control over safety-critical vehicle functions like braking or steering. The implementation will focus on extending current user interactions rather than autonomous control.
Rivian did not provide a specific timeline for this integration. The company directed inquiries to its upcoming "AI & Autonomy Day" event scheduled for December, where more details are expected to be shared.
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