Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe Tells Automakers: Get Software Right or Get Left Behind

Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe says traditional automakers risk falling behind in the next decade if they fail to modernize their software architecture. Speaking on the Cheeky Pint podcast hosted by Stripe cofounder John Collison, Scaringe warned that legacy carmakers relying on fragmented, outdated systems will struggle to compete in an AI-driven automotive future.

Scaringe’s warning about the AI era

According to Scaringe, most major automakers still depend on “little islands of software” systems built for individual functions that don’t communicate effectively with each other. “It’s inconceivable that by the early 2030s, a car company can exist at scale and maintain market share without a software-defined architecture,” he said.

Scaringe emphasized that layers of abstraction between code and hardware need to be eliminated for vehicles to support deep contextual learning, seamless AI integration, and personalized driving experiences that evolve over time, according to Insider.

“There’s so many abstraction layers between the actual code and the manufacturer. I think that must go away for you to be competitive in a world of AI, where you want deep contextual understanding of what’s happening across the vehicle and being able to create these highly immersive, highly evolving experiences that get better and better over time,” the Rivian CEO said.

Doubling down on in-house tech

Rivian has built its own proprietary software stack from the ground up, a move Scaringe believes will define the industry’s winners and losers. “If manufacturers don’t make that change, they’re just going to lose market share,” he said. “The ones that do have that technology are going to gain a lot in the next 10 years.”

His comments come as Rivian pursues a software-focused $5.8 billion partnership with Volkswagen aimed at developing next-generation vehicle platforms. Scaringe acknowledged his stance may sound self-interested but argued that deep software integration will soon become non-negotiable for every automaker competing in the AI age.

“I think every car company is either going to try to develop it themselves, which is hard because they don’t typically have those skill sets. Try to source it from suppliers. That’s very hard because those companies are precisely the ones that don’t want to see all their little computers go away. Or, work with us,” he said.

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