Rivian goes big on autonomy, with custom silicon, lidar, and a hint at robotaxis

Core Insights - Rivian is advancing its electric vehicles towards greater autonomy, incorporating new hardware such as lidar and custom silicon, with aspirations to enter the self-driving ride-hail market [1][2] Technology Development - The company's first "Autonomy & AI Day" event revealed its technology advancements, aiming to produce the more affordable R2 SUV by the first half of 2026 [2] - Rivian plans to expand its hands-free driver-assistance software to over 3.5 million miles of roads in the USA and Canada, with a feature called "Universal Hands-Free" launching in early 2026 [3] Driver Assistance Features - The point-to-point navigation feature allows users to input a destination, enabling the vehicle to drive autonomously [4] - Future enhancements will allow drivers to take their eyes off the road, with plans to achieve "personal L4" autonomy, meaning no human intervention is required in specific areas [4] Market Competition - Rivian aims to compete with companies like Waymo, initially focusing on personally owned vehicles while also exploring opportunities in the rideshare market [5] Hardware Innovations - The company is developing a "large driving model" and a custom 5nm processor in collaboration with Arm and TSMC, moving away from Tesla's rules-based framework for autonomous vehicle development [7] - The new "autonomy computer" (ACM3) can process 5 billion pixels per second and will be featured in the upcoming R2 SUV [8][9] - The ACM3 will be paired with a lidar sensor to enhance real-time detection and spatial data processing, contributing to the vehicle's autonomy capabilities [9]