Aidan Gomez, the co-founder and CEO of the generative AI startup Cohere, has been appointed to the board of electric vehicle manufacturer Rivian, as indicated by a regulatory filing. This move suggests that Rivian is interested in leveraging AI to enhance its operations and establish itself as a leader in automotive software.
Rivian expanded the size of its board to include Gomez, with his term set to end in 2026, according to the filing.
Gomez has an extensive background as a data scientist and AI specialist. He founded Cohere in 2019 alongside Nick Frosst and Ivan Zhang, focusing on creating AI foundation models for business applications. The company provides its services to firms like Oracle and Notion.
Before establishing Cohere, Gomez worked as a researcher at Google Brain, the deep learning division of Google managed by Nobel laureate Geoffrey Hinton. Gomez is recognized for co-authoring the influential 2017 paper “Attention Is All You Need,” which contributed significantly to the development of today’s advanced generative AI models.
Gomez’s expertise is expected to be advantageous for Rivian as it engages in a $5.8 billion joint venture with Volkswagen Group to advance software development. In this collaboration, Rivian will contribute its knowledge of electrical architecture and potentially license its existing intellectual property to the venture.
There is potential for the joint venture to commercialize its technology to other companies in the future.
Additionally, Rivian has been developing an AI assistant for its electric vehicles since 2023. Rivian’s chief software officer, Wassym Bensaid, mentioned in an interview with TechCrunch that the AI initiative, specifically concerning the orchestration layer or framework for the assistant, is separate from the collaboration with Volkswagen.
The company’s founder and CEO, RJ Scaringe, expressed that Gomez’s skills in AI are a valuable asset to Rivian, emphasizing that his insights and expertise will aid Rivian in incorporating advanced technologies into their products, services, and manufacturing processes.
