
Behind the Business with Michelle Toh
Beyond EVs: Rivian founder & CEO RJ Scaringe on AI, robotics and the next big bet
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About this episode
Joining me this week is RJ Scaringe, founder & CEO of Rivian, the electric automaker backed by Amazon and Volkswagen. RJ has wanted to build cars for as long as he can remember — telling his father at age 10 that he hoped to one day start an automotive company. Years later, in 2009, he took the leap. There was "no money, no team, no technology, no suppliers, no brand and no production infrastructure," as he puts it. Now, as the company launches a new vehicle, doubles down on AI and autonomous driving, and charts a path to steady profitability, RJ takes us through the lessons from building an automaker from the ground up — and one of the world's most closely watched EV companies. In this…