From TechCrunch · Sean O'Kane · · 2m
Rivian plans to run AI agents from other companies in its cars
Rivian's CEO says the carmaker will let AI assistants from Anthropic, OpenAI and Meta run inside its vehicles, but safety concerns mean they won't control driving functions.
In brief
Rivian's CEO says the carmaker will let AI assistants from Anthropic, OpenAI and Meta run inside its vehicles, but safety concerns mean they won't control driving functions. Rivian plans to integrate AI agents from companies like Anthropic into its cars, expanding beyond its own assistant, though the carmaker will…
Rivian's AI assistant gets a major upgrade
Rivian has rolled out an AI assistant that lets drivers and passengers interact with the company's electric vehicles by talking to them. The carmaker now plans to expand this capability significantly.
Other AI companies' agents coming to Rivian cars
Rivian founder and CEO RJ Scaringe said at TechCrunch Disrupt this week that in the future, Rivian's cars will be able to run AI agents made by other companies like Anthropic.Scaringe called this moment magical.
“That's where it becomes magical.”
Timeline and details remain unclear
Scaringe did not say when Rivian would implement this feature. The company declined to offer more details, pointing instead to the AI and Autonomy Day event it is hosting in December.
Rivian built its own software from scratch
Rivian developed its in-car software from the ground up instead of leaning on Apple CarPlay or Android Auto.
How Rivian's AI framework routes requests
Rivian created its own in-house agentic framework that understands what action a person wants when they talk to the vehicle and routes it to the right part of the car's software.
The system chooses which AI model to use
Scaringe explained that when a driver asks the vehicle something, it decides which model to use.For simple questions it uses a local model running on the vehicle.
“Think of it as like a traffic light. So if you ask the vehicle something, it decides what model it's going to use.”
External apps already integrated
As of May of this year, Rivian's agent could access external apps like Google Calendar.
Safety means agents cannot control driving
Rivian must coordinate with AI labs to make third-party agents work safely in the car.Scaringe said agents will never determine when to apply brakes or steer the vehicle.
“You wouldn't want an agent to determine, 'hey, it's time to apply the brakes, or time to steer the vehicle.'”
Agents will extend across devices
Rivian plans to connect the vehicle to context that apps like Meta's Muse collect on users.
What to remember
Rivian plans to integrate AI agents from companies like Anthropic into its cars, expanding beyond its own assistant, though the carmaker will keep agents away from safety-critical driving controls.
