# Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies

> Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies (RV Tech) is a 50/50 joint venture launched in November 2024 that fuses Rivian's software and electrical-hardware know-how with Volkswagen Group's global manufacturing scale. Co-headquartered in Palo Alto, it builds the zonal electrical architecture, operating systems, in-vehicle AI, and cloud-connectivity stack that will power next-generation software-defined vehicles across Volkswagen, Audi, Scout, Rivian, and more - aiming to make every new car smarter, cheaper to build, and continuously upgradable over the air.

- **Founded:** 2024
- **Headquarters:** Palo Alto, California, United States
- **Founders:** Wassym Bensaid (Co-CEO (from Rivian; Rivian Chief Software Officer)), Carsten Helbing (Co-CEO (from Volkswagen Group))
- **Team size:** ~1,500-1,600 employees (2025-2026)
- **Products:** Zonal electrical architecture, Vehicle operating system, In-vehicle AI & intelligence, Cloud & connectivity solutions, Digital security & digital car key
- **Notable:** Integrated Rivian's zonal hardware and software into a Volkswagen test vehicle within roughly 12 weeks of formation., Successfully completed winter testing of production-intent zonal architecture in Phoenix (USA) and Arjeplog (Sweden), with a joint Volkswagen, Audi, Scout, and RV Tech team., Unlocked an additional $1 billion equity investment from Volkswagen after hitting a development milestone in 2026.

## Products & services

- **Zonal electrical architecture** — Production-intent zonal hardware that consolidates dozens of electronic control units into a few high-performance zonal controllers, cutting wiring, weight, and cost.
- **Vehicle operating system** — The core software platform and OS layer that runs the car and enables over-the-air feature delivery.
- **In-vehicle AI & intelligence** — AI and data systems powering assistants and smart vehicle features; Rivian Assistant voice system rolled out to R1 vehicles via OTA in 2026.
- **Cloud & connectivity solutions** — Cloud backend and connectivity stack linking vehicles to services, updates, and data pipelines.
- **Digital security & digital car key** — Vehicle security and phone-as-key technology for software-defined vehicles.

## Achievements

- Integrated Rivian's zonal hardware and software into a Volkswagen test vehicle within roughly 12 weeks of formation.
- Successfully completed winter testing of production-intent zonal architecture in Phoenix (USA) and Arjeplog (Sweden), with a joint Volkswagen, Audi, Scout, and RV Tech team.
- Unlocked an additional $1 billion equity investment from Volkswagen after hitting a development milestone in 2026.
- Scaled to roughly 1,500+ employees across four global sites within about a year.
- Architecture selected to underpin upcoming vehicles across Volkswagen, Audi, Scout, and Rivian.

## Latest updates

- **2026-05** — Rivian Assistant AI voice system began rolling out to Gen 1 and Gen 2 R1 vehicles via software update 2026.15.
- **2026-04** — Appointed Manasi Vartak as Vice President of AI and Data.
- **2026-03** — Completed winter testing of production-intent zonal architecture in Phoenix and Arjeplog, unlocking another $1 billion investment from Volkswagen.
- **2025-11** — Marked one year since founding with reported strong progress on the SDV platform.

## Links

- Website: https://rivianvw.tech
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/rivian-and-vw-group-technologies

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Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-06-20