{"id":25829,"date":"2026-05-28T16:56:08","date_gmt":"2026-05-28T16:56:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/25829\/"},"modified":"2026-05-28T16:56:08","modified_gmt":"2026-05-28T16:56:08","slug":"rivian-in-talks-with-volkswagen-group-to-widen-tech-partnership-jv-co-ceo-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/25829\/","title":{"rendered":"Rivian in Talks With Volkswagen Group to Widen Tech Partnership, JV Co-CEO Says"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rivian<\/a> is in talks with Volkswagen Group<\/a> to bring more of its technology into the vehicles of the German group, including AI capabilities that include the newly launched in-car assistant.<\/p>\n

Speaking on the latest episode of The Verge\u2018s Decoder podcast, Rivian<\/a>\u2018s Chief Software Officer Wassym Bensaid detailed the boundaries of the Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies<\/a> (\u2018RV Tech\u2019) joint venture, its workforce, and the technologies that sit inside and outside its scope.<\/p>\n

Rivian<\/a> and Volkswagen<\/a> entered a partnership in late 2024, under which the German automaker agreed to invest up to $5.8 billion in the EV maker as it adopts Rivian<\/a>\u2018s zonal architecture and software stack across its future electric vehicles. <\/p>\n

RV Tech is co-led by Bensaid and VW Group<\/a>\u2018s Chief Technology Officer Carsten Helbing.<\/p>\n

Bensaid described the deal as the largest licensing arrangement of its kind, framing it as taking \u201cRivian<\/a> technology into the second-largest OEM in the world.\u201d <\/p>\n

He noted that \u201cas RJ [Scaringe, Rivian<\/a>\u2018s CEO] and I started the discussions with [VW Group<\/a>\u2018s CEO] Oliver Blume, his number one priority was that they needed to keep the Rivian<\/a> way of doing things.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Bensaid, they \u201crealized that we are not only bringing software IP and electronics IP but also a different process. We are bringing a different culture, and the VW Group<\/a> needed that change from the inside.\u201d<\/p>\n

JV Workforce Update<\/p>\n

Bensaid said RV Tech now employs roughly 1,500 people, all of whom are direct employees of the joint venture rather than of either parent company.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe started with about 800 or 900 developers coming from Rivian<\/a>, and then we had about 50 colleagues who joined us from the Volkswagen Group<\/a>,\u201d Bensaid said. \u201cThe rest are developers and engineers that we\u2019ve hired in the past 18 months. So, everybody\u2019s RV Tech.\u201d<\/p>\n

Under the structure, the technical team covering software and electrical engineering reports to Bensaid, while Helbing handles operations and serves as the main interface with Volkswagen Group<\/a>, arbitrating requirements across the German group\u2019s brands.<\/p>\n

Bensaid acknowledged that managing competing demands across those brands has produced friction<\/a>. <\/p>\n

\u201cObviously, in some cases there has been daily tension. There are cases over the past 18 months where, as you mentioned, one brand might request a different requirement than another brand,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

However, \u201cwhat really helped us to continue is that support from the highest levels of Volkswagen Group<\/a> leadership to help drive that transformation and cultural change.\u201d<\/p>\n

What the JV Includes<\/p>\n

The joint venture is responsible for the underlying electrical architecture and the operating system that will power VW Group<\/a>\u2018s electric vehicles. <\/p>\n

Bensaid noted that RV Tech does roughly 80% to 90% of the work, building a common platform and then providing customization hooks so each brand can express its own identity.<\/p>\n

\u201cAn Audi drives like an Audi and a Lamborghini has a different UI than a Rivian<\/a>,\u201d he said. \u201cBut what\u2019s happening under the hood, what\u2019s happening behind the scenes, is based on the same platform.\u201d<\/p>\n

For now, the joint venture\u2019s scope covers only electric vehicles. <\/p>\n

Bensaid said the technology could in principle be applied to hybrids or internal combustion vehicles, but that doing so is not the venture\u2019s current priority. <\/p>\n

The remark aligns with earlier comments from Helbing, who told media<\/a> the architecture is \u201cextremely capable\u201d and could later support ICE applications.<\/p>\n

What the JV Excludes<\/p>\n

Bensaid confirmed that Rivian<\/a>\u2018s autonomy technology and its newly launched Rivian<\/a> Assistant both sit outside the joint venture\u2019s architecture.<\/p>\n

On self-driving, the EV maker has previously clarified<\/a> that its autonomy platform \u2014 including the in-house RAP1 processor and LiDAR hardware unveiled at its December Autonomy & AI Day \u2014 is not part of the Volkswagen<\/a> partnership.<\/p>\n

The Rivian Assistant<\/a>, the AI-powered voice system that began rolling out<\/a> to Gen 1 and Gen 2 R1 vehicles in May via software update 2026.15, is also excluded. <\/p>\n

Bensaid said the system was built on a dedicated in-house orchestration layer, with the company deciding to develop its own AI stack rather than rely on a third-party solution.<\/p>\n

Asked directly whether the assistant relies on the RV Tech software stack, and whether Volkswagen<\/a>s might receive Rivian<\/a> Assistant or something like it, Bensaid drew a clear line \u2014 while signaling that talks to widen the partnership are already underway.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is special to Rivian<\/a>. This is an AI stack that is developed uniquely for Rivian<\/a>. This is Rivian<\/a>\u2018s brand priority as we see cars becoming more and more AI-defined,\u201d Bensaid defended. \u201cBut we\u2019re in discussions so that we can have similar technologies for the Volkswagen Group.<\/a>\u201c<\/p>\n

The position extends a pattern Rivian<\/a> executives have set out repeatedly. <\/p>\n

CEO RJ Scaringe has described<\/a> the Volkswagen<\/a> deal as \u201cthe first of what we believe will be many software and electronics deals like that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Management has also noted that the partnership opens the door to licensing its stack<\/a> \u2014 potentially including autonomy hardware and software \u2014 to other automakers beyond Volkswagen<\/a>.<\/p>\n

First Models Debuting the JV Tech<\/p>\n

The Rivian<\/a> R2 will be the first vehicle to run the new zonal architecture, Bensaid confirmed. <\/p>\n

On the Volkswagen<\/a> side, the ID.1 \u2014 an entry-level model expected to sell for less than $25,000 \u2014 is among the first products being built with the technology.<\/p>\n

Volkswagen<\/a>, Audi<\/a> and Scout Motors <\/a>reference vehicles completed winter testing<\/a> in the first quarter of 2026, with the program covering the Volkswagen<\/a> ID.EVERY1 concept that underpins the production ID.1. <\/p>\n

The Scalable Systems Platform developed through the partnership is expected to be deployed on up to 30 million vehicles across the group\u2019s brands.<\/p>\n

Financial Side of the JV<\/p>\n

Rivian<\/a> receives Volkswagen<\/a>\u2018s capital in tranches tied to technical and financial milestones. <\/p>\n

The EV maker collected the first two $1 billion equity tranches in 2025 after posting back-to-back gross-profit quarters.<\/p>\n

A third $1 billion deployment earlier this year lifted Volkswagen<\/a>\u2018s stake to 15.9%, making the German group Rivian\u2019s largest shareholder<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Volkswagen<\/a> surpassed Amazon<\/a> for the first time since the EV maker\u2019s 2021 Nasdaq debut.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Rivian is in talks with Volkswagen Group to bring more of its technology into the vehicles of the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":25830,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20947],"tags":[5084,5356],"class_list":["post-25829","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-volkswagen","tag-top","tag-volkswagen"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25829","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25829"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25829\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25830"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25829"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25829"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25829"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}