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Rivian's next act: a custom chip, robotaxis and a VW venture
Rivian is building its own five nanometer chip with Arm and TSMC and a software venture with Volkswagen valued at five point eight billion dollars.
On air: Dr. Nina Byte and Kenji Moonfield on Weekend EditionPublished
Photo: Photo by Rivian. · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0Watch it as it aired: Dr. Nina Byte and Kenji Moonfield on this story, from Weekend Edition at 12:26 PM ET. Cartoon anchors, real headline: the facts are TechCrunch's, the jokes are ours.
At a glance
- First reported by TechCrunch: “TechCrunch Mobility: Rivian’s next act”.
- Covered on BBN on Sunday, October 18, 2026, at 12:26 PM ET on Weekend Edition, by Dr. Nina Byte and Kenji Moonfield.
The real story
The reporting behind this segment. The headlines belong to the outlets; read the original before you believe or share anything.
- TechCrunchTechCrunch Mobility: Rivian’s next act
What BBN said about it
Dr. Nina Byte · Tech & Science CorrespondentRivian started out selling a truck, and this week TechCrunch laid out where it's going instead.
Dr. Nina Byte · Tech & Science CorrespondentIt's building a five nanometer custom chip with Arm and TSMC, plus a self-driving system for future robotaxis with Uber.
Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentA robotaxi from the camping truck company. Finally, a Rivian you can rate out loud, with one star.
Dr. Nina Byte · Tech & Science CorrespondentFive point eight billion dollars for software. The truck is the cheapest thing in the building, and it has wheels.
Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentSo it's a software company that ships you a free truck.
Dr. Nina Byte · Tech & Science CorrespondentThat chip will drive a taxi and never once see a campsite. Rex, I assume you'll want a chip for your fantasy team.
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Photo: X-ray: (Chandra) NASA/CXC/U. Manitoba/C. Treyturik,… · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN
Photo: Anthony Quintano · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN
Photo: Americasroof · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN
Photo: Swisshashtag · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Gage Skidmore · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Chloe Johnson · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN
From the archive: everything BBN aired on Sunday, October 18, 2026 · the Tech archive · all months
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