**Rivian Launches Mind Robotics: A New Industrial AI and Robotics Venture**
Electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer Rivian has announced the creation of Mind Robotics, a new company focused on advancing industrial artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics. This marks Rivian's second spinoff company this year, underscoring the automaker’s growing interest in leveraging cutting-edge technology to transform industries beyond automotive manufacturing.
**What Is Mind Robotics?**
Details on Mind Robotics remain limited, but Rivian describes the venture as an effort to use "industrial AI to reshape how physical world businesses operate." The company plans to capitalize on Rivian's existing operations data, using it as the backbone for what it calls a "robotics data flywheel." In simpler terms, Mind Robotics aims to develop AI-driven robotic systems that could revolutionize how businesses in various sectors—potentially including manufacturing, logistics, and even agriculture—operate in the physical world.
Rivian’s third-quarter shareholder letter, released Tuesday, highlighted the new venture. The letter suggested that AI-enabled robotics could support a wide range of industrial applications, though it stopped short of specifying which industries or use cases Mind Robotics would target first.
**Funding and Organizational Details**
Rivian has already secured around $110 million in external seed funding for Mind Robotics. However, the company has not disclosed the venture’s leadership, organizational structure, or whether any current Rivian employees will move over to the spinoff. This mirrors the company’s approach earlier this year, when it spun out its experimental micromobility division into a startup called Also Inc.
For that earlier spinoff, Eclipse and Greenoaks Capital provided funding, and a number of Rivian employees transitioned to the new company. While it is unclear if a similar move is happening with Mind Robotics, Rivian hinted at the possibility in its shareholder letter. CEO RJ Scaringe wrote, "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."
A trademark application for Mind Robotics was filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Monday, listing Jiten Behl, a partner at Eclipse, as a signatory. The application uses Eclipse’s Palo Alto headquarters as the company’s address. The broad language in the trademark filing suggests Mind Robotics could operate in fields ranging from machinery and vehicles to more unconventional areas like "incubators for eggs." This wide scope points to ambitions that extend well beyond automotive applications.
**Why Is Rivian Spinning Off These Ventures?**
Rivian’s decision to launch Mind Robotics reflects a strategic move common among innovative companies: spinning off experimental or highly specialized projects that may be better able to attract outside investment, focus on new markets, or operate with greater speed and flexibility as independent entities. By doing so, Rivian can maintain its core focus on EV manufacturing while allowing its most ambitious technology projects to