# Wassym Bensaid

> Wassym Bensaid is Rivian’s Chief Software Officer and Co-CEO and CTO of Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies. A software and systems engineer whose earlier work spanned wireless devices, Android and connected infrastructure, he joined Rivian in 2019 and helped develop its integrated vehicle software. His public Q&As connect engineering decisions with owners’ everyday experiences.

- **Role:** Co-CEO and CTO at Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies; Chief Software Officer at Rivian
- **Organizations:** Rivian, Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies, Intel, Silver Spring Networks, RED Hydrogen, Motorola, NXP Semiconductors, Freescale
- **Education:** Telecommunications engineering, École nationale d’ingénieurs de Tunis
- **Known for:** MotorTrend Software-Defined Vehicle Innovator Leader Award, 2023., Databricks Visionary Award, 2026., Helped develop Rivian’s vertically integrated vehicle software and over-the-air update capabilities.

## Career timeline

- **—** — Worked in wireless at NXP Semiconductors and Motorola, with research and development leadership at Freescale and Intel.
- **—** — Held engineering leadership roles at Intel, Silver Spring Networks and RED Hydrogen.
- **2019** — Joined Rivian.
- **2023** — As Senior Vice President of Software Development, hosted public software Q&As and received a MotorTrend SDV Innovator Leader Award.
- **2024** — Named Co-CEO and CTO of the Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies joint venture, launched in November.

## Achievements

- MotorTrend Software-Defined Vehicle Innovator Leader Award, 2023.
- Databricks Visionary Award, 2026.
- Helped develop Rivian’s vertically integrated vehicle software and over-the-air update capabilities.
- Co-leads the software and electrical architecture joint venture between Rivian and Volkswagen Group.

## Latest updates

- **2026-03** — RV Tech announced completion of winter testing of its production-intent zonal architecture with Volkswagen, Audi and Scout reference vehicles.
- **2026-05** — Hosted an R2 software Reddit AMA and appeared on Decoder with Nilay Patel.
- **2026-06** — Named the 2026 Databricks Visionary Award recipient.

## Links

- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wassymbensaid
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/WassymBensaid

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/wassym-bensaid
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-11