According to TechCrunch, Rivian has created its second spinoff company this year called Mind Robotics, which will focus on industrial AI and robotics. The company revealed in Tuesday’s third-quarter shareholder letter that it secured around $110 million in external seed capital for the new venture. This follows Rivian’s March spinoff of its micromobility division into Also Inc, which was funded partly by Eclipse with additional money from Greenoaks Capital. A trademark application filed Monday lists Eclipse partner Jiten Behl as a signatory and uses Eclipse’s Palo Alto headquarters as the corporate address. CEO RJ Scaringe hinted that Rivian’s “strong bench of technology talent” might be involved, though the company hasn’t confirmed if employees will transfer like they did with Also.
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The robotics gold rush is real
Here’s the thing – everyone and their mother seems to be jumping into robotics right now. Tesla’s got its Optimus humanoid robot, and General Motors is building its own robotics and AI division too. It’s becoming the new must-have accessory for automakers. But Rivian‘s approach feels different – they’re not just building another humanoid robot to show off at investor days.
The company says it wants to use “industrial AI to reshape how physical world businesses operate” and leverage Rivian operations data. That’s actually pretty smart when you think about it. Rivian’s been through the absolute wringer scaling up vehicle production – they’ve got hard-won operational knowledge that could be valuable to other manufacturing businesses. Basically, they’re productizing their own painful learning experiences.
But what are they actually building?
This is where it gets fuzzy. The trademark application is so broad it’s almost comical – covering everything from machinery and vehicles to “incubators for eggs.” Seriously? Egg incubators? Either someone’s being incredibly thorough with their IP protection, or Mind Robotics hasn’t quite figured out its focus yet.
And that $110 million seed round is massive for what’s essentially a blank slate company. It suggests investors see something compelling here, probably Rivian’s manufacturing expertise combined with Eclipse’s track record in hard tech. But it also raises questions – is this Rivian’s way of monetizing its R&D without distracting from its core EV business? Or are they just chasing the AI hype cycle?
Look, spinning out non-core businesses makes sense when you’re burning cash like Rivian has been. But the robotics space is getting crowded fast. The real test will be whether Mind Robotics can deliver something genuinely useful rather than just adding to the noise.
