Rivian's chief software officer Wassym Bensaid discusses the company's AI-powered Rivian Assistant, the Rivian-Volkswagen joint venture (RV Tech), and why he believes voice should replace buttons and CarPlay in cars. He explains the zonal architecture underpinning the new software platform, how the assistant integrates deeply with vehicle controls via MCP-based agentic connections, and why Rivian chose to build its own AI orchestration layer rather than rely on third-party solutions. Bensaid also addresses CarPlay's declining demand among Rivian customers (from 70% requesting it to under 25%), the R2's upcoming 5G and 200 TOPS edge AI compute, and the long-term vision of cars becoming AI-defined platforms where voice commands orchestrate across calendar, navigation, food delivery, and other personal digital ecosystems.
