By Daniel Sparks
Publication Date: 2025-12-16 23:18:00
Rivian’s plan to ship an in-house autonomy chip is another sign that customers want options beyond Nvidia.
Rivian‘s (RIVN 4.28%) Autonomy & AI Day last week put a wrinkle into the Nvidia (NVDA +0.99%) growth story.
Rivian, which specializes in electric trucks and SUVs, said it plans to ship a new autonomy computer on its R2 vehicles starting at the end of 2026, built around an in-house chip designed to run its self-driving software.
Rivian is not a major Nvidia customer, so this is not about lost revenue today. It’s about a pattern: More companies are looking for ways to rely less on Nvidia’s pricey AI (artificial intelligence) chips — and that trend matters more when Nvidia’s stock’s valuation already assumes years of continued dominance.
Image source: Rivian Automotive.
Rivian is building its own silicon
During its inaugural Autonomy & AI Day, Rivian said its updated hardware platform includes an in-house inference chip (“inference” is the step where a trained model makes real-time predictions in the vehicle).
“I couldn’t be more excited for the work our teams are driving in autonomy and AI,” said Rivian founder and CEO RJ Scaringe in the company’s press release about its new custom silicon. “Our updated hardware platform, which includes our in-house 1600 sparse TOPS inference chip, will enable us to achieve dramatic progress in self-driving to ultimately deliver on our goal of delivering [level 4 self-driving].”
Translation: Scaringe believes the electric-vehicle…
