Former Rivian Executive Predicts All Automakers Will Morph Into Robotics Firms
The automotive industry is on the verge of a fundamental transformation that goes far beyond just swapping engines for batteries. Jiten Behl, the former Chief Growth Officer at Rivian and now a partner at Eclipse Ventures, believes that every car manufacturer is destined to become a robotics company.
According to Behl, the sector is moving away from a reliance on low-cost overseas labor and toward a new era of re-industrialization in the United States. He argues that the factories of the future will be powered primarily by artificial intelligence and advanced automation rather than traditional human assembly lines.
This shift is already visible in the strategies of forward-thinking companies. Rivian, for instance, has recently spun out a new venture called Mind Robotics, which focuses specifically on creating robotic platforms for industrial use.
Behl notes that while vertical integration was a key strategy for Rivian in its early days, that approach may not be scalable for every startup today. Instead, the industry needs to focus on specialized automation to remain competitive against established global supply chains, particularly those in China.
The executive also highlighted another Rivian spinoff known as Also, which is developing electric bikes. These moves signal a broader trend where mobility companies are diversifying their technology stacks to include hardware that operates autonomously or semi-autonomously in the physical world.
This transition suggests that the definition of a car company is expanding rapidly. As software and hardware integration becomes more sophisticated, the line between vehicle manufacturing and robotics development will likely disappear completely.
Do you agree that the future of car manufacturing lies entirely in AI and robotics, or will human labor remain essential? Let us know what you think in the comments.
