Rivian (auto company) has a custom 5nm chip now too - RAP1

[Xebec]

I think it is great to see another automotive company leveraging an advanced node (5nm). The chip appears to have 14 x Cortex A720AE cores as a base, and some additional features to support multi-chip scaling. News sources are reporting that TSMC will fab this chip.

Rivian Custom Silicon, Next-Gen Autonomy Platform, Deep AI Integration - Newsroom - Rivian

American automotive technology company showcases roadmap toward global leadership in AI-defined vehicles and ownership experience

rivian.com

Rivian's autonomy breakthrough built with Arm: the compute foundation for the rise of physical AI

Rivian’s new autonomy platform, powered by Arm, sets the stage for intelligent, safety-ready mobility driven by physical AI.

newsroom.arm.com

Rivian Autonomy Processor and Gen 3 Autonomy Computer

At the core of Rivian’s technology roadmap is the transition to in-house silicon, designed specifically for the vision-centric physical AI. The first generation Rivian Autonomy Processor (RAP1) is a custom 5nm processor that integrates processing and memory onto a single multi-chip module. This architecture delivers advanced levels of efficiency, performance, and Automotive Safety Integrity Level compliance.

RAP1 powers the company’s third-generation Autonomy computer, the Autonomy Compute Module 3 (ACM3). Key specifications of the ACM3 include:

• 1600 sparse INT8 TOPS (Trillion Operations Per Second).
• The processing power of 5 billion pixels per second.
• RAP1 features RivLink, a low latency interconnect technology allowing chips to be connected to multiply processing power, making it inherently extensible.
• RAP1 is enabled by an in-house developed AI compiler and platform software.

 

[blueone]

I read about this on various sites yesterday, and had to chuckle. How is it that Rivian, whose sales volume for 2025 is about 40,000 vehicles, can financially justify designing their own 5nm self-driving chip? Aren't 5nm chip total development costs now in the $300M-500M range? $300M divided by 80,000 is $3750, assuming two chips per vehicle, and that's not counting production costs for chip or the multi-chip module, which doesn't look cheap. Adding in software and systems R&D costs, and this is looking silly. So I'm confused. Yeah, I know, Rivian has VW propping them up, but that doesn't seem like enough help, unless VW wants the self-driving design for itself.

One thing this chip does reinforce for me, and that's the notion that more and more companies will be designing their own chips in future. The companies that support that ecosystem, like Cadence, Synopsis, Broadcom, Marvell, TSMC, Samsung, (someday) Intel, etc. have a bright future. For the merchant chip market, I can still argue both sides, for now.

 

[hist78]

I think it is great to see another automotive company leveraging an advanced node (5nm). The chip appears to have 14 x Cortex A720AE cores as a base, and some additional features to support multi-chip scaling. News sources are reporting that TSMC will fab this chip.

Rivian Custom Silicon, Next-Gen Autonomy Platform, Deep AI Integration - Newsroom - Rivian

American automotive technology company showcases roadmap toward global leadership in AI-defined vehicles and ownership experience

rivian.com

Rivian's autonomy breakthrough built with Arm: the compute foundation for the rise of physical AI

Rivian’s new autonomy platform, powered by Arm, sets the stage for intelligent, safety-ready mobility driven by physical AI.

newsroom.arm.com

Rivian Autonomy Processor and Gen 3 Autonomy Computer

At the core of Rivian’s technology roadmap is the transition to in-house silicon, designed specifically for the vision-centric physical AI. The first generation Rivian Autonomy Processor (RAP1) is a custom 5nm processor that integrates processing and memory onto a single multi-chip module. This architecture delivers advanced levels of efficiency, performance, and Automotive Safety Integrity Level compliance.

RAP1 powers the company’s third-generation Autonomy computer, the Autonomy Compute Module 3 (ACM3). Key specifications of the ACM3 include:

• 1600 sparse INT8 TOPS (Trillion Operations Per Second).
• The processing power of 5 billion pixels per second.
• RAP1 features RivLink, a low latency interconnect technology allowing chips to be connected to multiply processing power, making it inherently extensible.
• RAP1 is enabled by an in-house developed AI compiler and platform software.

View attachment 3972

It’s interesting that Rivian is getting into the AI chip business and appears to be targeting industries more than just automotive sector.

From Arm press release:

"With partners like Rivian, Arm is at the forefront of this shift. As the world moves toward a multi trillion-dollar physical AI economy spanning mobility, robotics, logistics, and industrial automation, Arm is delivering the intelligent, efficient, and safety-capable compute foundation that will enable innovators everywhere to build the autonomous machines of the future."