Electric truck and SUV maker Rivian opened the doors of its Palo Alto, California, headquarters this week for its Autonomy & AI event, giving us a front-row look at the company’s next-generation driver assistance tech. It also detailed how it’s using new AI tech to power future autonomous driving features and the new Rivian Assistant voice interface launching on its R1 and R2 EVs next year. I was seated up front as Rivian’s engineering leaders walked us through a major evolution in the brand’s hardware and software stack — technology that will shape the upcoming R2 SUV and upgrade today’s R1 trucks and SUVs.
Rivian’s new brain: RAP1 and the Gen 3 Autonomy Computer
The powerhouse of Rivian’s next-gen tech strategy is its first in-house AI chip: the Rivian Autonomy Processor. This multi-chip module combines processor and memory into a single package, designed from the ground up for crunching data for artificial intelligence and autonomous driving tasks. The upcoming R2 electric SUV will use two RAP1 modules inside what Rivian calls its Gen 3 Autonomy Computer. The company says the ACM3 is 2.5 times more energy-efficient than its current system, which probably won’t have a huge impact on range, but for an EV, every watt saved matters.
The automaker’s new custom hardware is said to boast four-times more AI crunching power than the current chips.
More importantly, the new silicon is said to deliver four times the performance of the current Gen 2 system, which is a major improvement. Rivian says ACM3 will be able to process around 5 billion pixels of sensor data per second, which is important because the R2 is getting a substantial sensor upgrade.
More than meets the eye: R2’s lidar-powered sensor suite
The big news here is that Rivian’s R2 generation of EV will see a lidar array join the party, subtly integrated into the roofline just above the windshield. Rivian made a point of noting how its designers were able to avoid the “taxi-cab turret” design seen on vehicles like the Volvo EX90, maintaining a clean silhouette when viewed in profile.
The R2 platform’s 11 cameras will also see resolution improvements, now totaling a combined 65 megapixels and giving Rivian’s perception stack much sharper and more detailed visual awareness. Five redesigned radar units round out the package. The short-range capability is reportedly so good that Rivian has eliminated ultrasonic parking sensors entirely, a bold move and a sign of confidence in the new radar technology.
By recessing the lidar package into the roofline, Rivian avoids the “taxi cab” hump and keeps a smooth profile.
Rivian’s autonomy roadmap: Hands-off, eyes-off and eventually Level 4
Beyond the hardware, Rivian laid out an ambitious autonomy roadmap powered by what it calls its Large Driving Model, a high-capacity AI model trained to handle complex, real-world driving scenarios. The name hearkens to its being based on many of the same technologies, neural networks and training patterns as the large language models now familiar to AI chatbots, which feels like a novel approach to autonomous driving development. But Rivian assures us that it has placed safety first when building the technology.
The Large Driving Model will soon power Rivian’s Autonomy Plus driver assistance suite. Launching in early 2026 for current R1 owners, Autonomy Plus will expand Rivian’s hands-free driving coverage to 3.5 million miles of US and Canadian roadways. It will also allow hands-free operation on non-highway roads, as long as lane markings are clear.
Pricing is set at a $2,500 one-time upgrade or $50 per month for drivers who want to test the waters first.
Rivian’s Universal Hands Free driving assist is expanding next year to include 3.5 million miles of on- and off-highway roads.
With more AI processing hardware and the extra peace of mind provided by lidar, Rivian says its autonomy roadmap leads to full point-to-point hands-free driving for the upcoming R2 EVs, eventually evolving to eyes-off driving and ultimately to full Level 4 autonomy, where the vehicle can operate independently under defined conditions.
Rivian Assistant: A new AI voice interface with real capability
The event wasn’t just about autonomy. Rivian also showcased how its new AI hardware will boost convenience and dashboard tech inside of its EVs.
Rivian Assistant is the automaker’s new online and offline AI voice assistant designed to understand natural speech and tie directly into the vehicle’s apps and services. In a live demo, Rivian used Assistant to access a user’s Google Calendar and find the day’s appointments and then reschedule one of the meetings in real time. With another series of conversationally spoken commands, the Rivian then pulled a destination from the appointment, searched for restaurants nearby and then sent the top three dining options to the meeting attendee, complete with an updated ETA.
Rivian joins the ranks of automakers that offer AI-powered chatbots in the dashboard. Rivian Assistant looks promising.
All of it worked with simple, conversational commands, and if Rivian can maintain this level of integration across more services, it could become one of the most useful in-car assistants available.
Rivian Assistant launches early next year on current first- and second-generation R1T and R1S vehicles and will debut natively on the R2 near the end of 2026.
