The EV manufacturer designed its silicon in-house in the middle of Silicon Valley. Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. Rivian founder and CEO RJ Scaringe hosted the EV manufacturer's first Autonomy and AI Day this week, announcing a slew of big advancements from his no-longer-fledgling company. Appropriately, from Rivian's headquarters in Silicon Valley, the automaker revealed a project it has been keeping under wraps: a silicon chip of its own design. The chip is a processor that powers the next version of Rivian's on-board computer.

Rivian has hired former Waymo executive James Philbin to lead autonomy and AI at the automaker, a new role that signals the company's interest in automated driving technology. Philbin was director of software engineering for two years at Waymo. Before that, Philbin worked for five years at Amazon's self-driving subsidiary Zoox, where he lead computer vision and perception. "As we look at our future roadmap and the integral role of AI/ML, James' arrival couldn't come at a more impactful time," Rivian founder and CEO RJ Scaringe wrote in a LinkedIn post. Scaringe reiterated that point Wednesday while onstage at TechCrunch Disrupt.

Reports emerged last week that GM would not join Amazon in investing in electric vehicle startup Rivian, and now we have a little more clarity on why talks broke down. It seems GM wanted some exclusivity, but Rivian plans to build vehicles for other companies, as well as release up to six models under its own branding by 2025. Founder RJ Scaringe said Rivian is working on something related to the Amazon investment, but hinted to Bloomberg that it may not be a vehicle. He's open to selling his company's technology (it has developed long-lasting batteries) to other businesses for various products, including stationary batteries. So perhaps Amazon is interested in using Rivian's know-how for something other than vehicles, though it has also invested in a self-driving car startup.

Amazon said on Friday it would lead a $700 million investment in U.S. electric pickup truck startup Rivian, in the e-commerce giant's biggest bet on technologies with potential to reshape the automotive sector. The deal represents a major endorsement of Rivian's electric vehicle technology by the world's largest online retailer, which is looking for ways to boost the speed and reduce the cost of its deliveries. Reuters reported on Tuesday that Amazon and General Motors were in talks to invest in Rivian. Amazon is leading a $700 million investment in electric pickup startup Rivian, in the tech giant's biggest bet on technologies with potential to reshape the automotive sector. GM's talks with Rivian about an investment are continuing and any deal would be announced at a later date, people familiar with the talks said on Friday.