Rivian's software chief thinks you don't need CarPlay or buttons
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
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Hello and welcome to Decoder. I'm Nilay Patel, Editor-in-Chief at The Verge, and Decoder is my show about big ideas and other problems. Today I'm talking with Wasim Ben Sayed, the Chief Software Officer at Rivian, and the co-CEO of Rivian's platform joint venture with Volkswagen, which everyone just calls RVTech. But that joint venture kicked off about a year and a half ago with a nearly $6 billion investment from Volkswagen, and it effectively puts Wasim in charge of the operating system and electrical architecture for every future EV from Volkswagen and its associated brands. including familiar names like Audi, but also new companies like Scout. There's a lot of decoder ideas in there. I really wanted to know how that joint venture works, and how it's structured to preserve Rivian's unique software culture, which you'll hear Wasim talk about as the core element of the entire thing.
I also wanted to know where the lines were. What parts of Rivian's software get to be just for Rivian? And which parts of the core technology are shared across both the smaller company and the behemoth that is Volkswagen Group? And, of course, I wanted to understand how Wasim navigated the tension between the two. You know, classic decoder bait. It's also a big moment for Rivian in general right now. The company is gearing up to deliver the more affordable Rivian R2, which is the first vehicle based on this new architecture, and the company also just shipped the AI-powered Rivian Assistant in its R1 vehicles. You'll hear what Sam talked about the Assistant as the beginning of a big bet for Rivian, as it tries to create a more agentic software platform in its cars.
I actually got to spend some time with Rivian Assistant in an R1S ahead of my conversation with Wasim, and I found it to be a fascinating experience. It's certainly powerful and engaging, but at the same time, it's frustrating in a lot of really interesting ways. So, of course, I had a bunch of feature requests, bug reports, and questions about the future of AI in assistants and cars. We talked about his prediction from just a few years ago that buttons in cars were just an anomaly, and, of course, how he's feeling about Android Auto and CarPlay these days. You'll hear it, but spoiler alert, don't get your hopes up. This is a really fun episode of Decoder. It's really in the weeds of a lot of my favorite things to talk about.
OK, Waseem Benseyed, Chief Software Officer at Rivian and co-CEO of RVTech. Here we go.
Wilson Bensaid, you're the chief software officer at Rivian. You're also the co-CEO of a very important software joint venture between Rivian and Volkswagen, which is just straightforwardly called Rivian Volkswagen Group Technology. Welcome to Decoder. Thanks,
Neil. I'm super excited to be here.
I am very excited to talk to you. I have a lot to talk to you about. It occurred to me as we were doing the prep for this episode that you're in charge of building a new kind of software for cars, but also because of the joint venture in charge of building a new kind of software company that builds the new kind of software for cars. It is the most fractal decoder I think we've ever had.
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Chapters
5 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–5:31
2
What is Rivian’s joint‑venture with Volkswagen and why does it matter?
5:31–19:46
3
How is the automotive industry being disrupted by software and electrification?
19:46–27:44
4
What does “software‑defined vehicle” mean to Rivian and how is it built?
27:44–42:23
5
How is RV Tech organized and what parts of the software are shared with VW brands?
42:23–1:07:54
Speakers
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