Rivian Automotive and Volkswagen Group announced their intention to form an equally controlled and owned JV (joint venture) to create next-generation electrical architecture and best-in-class software technology. The partnership is anticipated to accelerate software development for Rivian and Volkswagen, allowing both companies to lower the cost per vehicle by increasing scale and speeding up innovation.

Rivian’s current zonal hardware design and integrated technology platform are expected to serve as the foundation for future SDV development in the JV that will be applied to both companies’ vehicles. Rivian plans to contribute its electrical architecture expertise and is expected to license existing intellectual property to the JV.

Both companies aim to launch vehicles benefiting from the technology created within the JV in the second half of the decade. In the short term, the JV is expected to enable Volkswagen Group to use Rivian’s existing electrical architecture and software platform. The partnership’s ambition is to accelerate Volkswagen Group’s SDV plans and transition to a pure zonal architecture.

Each company will continue to separately operate their respective vehicle businesses.

“Our customers benefit from the targeted partnership with Rivian to create a leading technology architecture,” said Oliver Blume, CEO of Volkswagen Group. “The partnership fits seamlessly with our existing software strategy, our products, and partnerships. We are strengthening our technology profile and our competitiveness.”

Volkswagen Group plans to make an initial $1 billion and potential total $5 billion investment into Rivian.

“Since the earliest days of Rivian, we have been focused on developing highly differentiated technology, and it’s exciting that one of the world’s largest and most respected automotive companies has recognized this,” said RJ Scaringe, Founder and CEO of Rivian. “Not only is this partnership expected to bring our software and associated zonal architecture to an even broader market through Volkswagen Group’s global reach, but this partnership also is expected to help secure our capital needs for substantial growth.”

Significant work done over the past months has validated that Rivian’s electrical architecture and software are compatible with Volkswagen Group’s vehicles.

Earlier this month, Rivian revealed its updated R1 platform featuring a new electrical architecture and compute platform developed by the in-house hardware and software teams. These updates are said to make the vehicles more robust, less costly to produce, and easier to service while improving customer experience.

Core to the new system is a substantial reduction in the number of vehicle ECUs (electronic control units), down from 17 to 7. Infotainment, autonomy, vehicle access, and battery management systems have their own ECU, while all other vehicle functions are controlled by three other ECUs. This was achieved by shifting to a zonal architecture, significantly increasing the computational capabilities of each ECU.

While not a part of the VW deal, the update introduced the most extensive update to the Rivian UI (user interface) since its launch. With the new R1, Rivian has expanded its use of Epic Games‘ Unreal Engine for the driver’s display and the full infotainment center.

Ultra-wideband technology is used to enhance the digital key experience. Owners can use car keys in Apple Wallet on iPhone and Watch, or with select Google Pixel devices, to unlock and start their vehicles and share keys digitally with family and friends.

A new Connect+ subscription supports streaming video through Google Cast and provides access to more than 3000 apps, bringing entertainment into the R1’s center display from an iPhone or Android phone or tablet. With Connect+ customers also have access to Spotify, Tidal, and Amazon Alexa and can share a WiFi hotspot with up to eight devices. Continuous feature updates with more entertainment, experience, and security features are planned.

The premium Rivian Autonomy Platform+ available on second-generation vehicles features enhanced capabilities. To start, premium features will be available at no charge. The first will be Lane Change on Command, available by software update this summer, followed by Enhanced Highway Assist, coming later this year and with expanded road coverage to follow.

Rivian’s in-house developed autonomy platform is powered by new perception hardware and software, the system performing over 250 trillion operations per second for “an industry-leading level of compute power.” The multimodal-sensor approach majors on cameras and radars. The autonomy compute module features dual Nvidia Drive Orin processors running Drive OS, delivering 10 times more compute performance than our previous system.

The new system uses AI software to anticipate, plan, and react in real-time. Large language models are used to perceive and understand surroundings, predict the behavior of others, and prepare your vehicle for what might come next. Using end-to-end training, the system constantly learns and enhances over time.