Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe predicts rapid progress in robotics

Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe claims that the rate of progress in robotics is advancing much faster than the public realizes. Scaringe, who founded the new robotics company Mind Robotics in 2025, has raised $1 billion to capitalize on recent technological breakthroughs.

Mind Robotics is developing industrial robots featuring two arms and specialized hands with wide-splaying fingers and fingernails designed for delicate manipulation. Unlike previous generations of robots that relied on prescribed motions, these new models utilize transformer-based technology—similar to the architecture used in large language models—to learn broad, generalizable skills. This allows robots to execute complex tasks, such as cleaning a surface, by using internal models to determine necessary motions rather than following rigid, pre-programmed instructions.