Rivian acquires UK firm for 3D testing

Rivian has completed the acquisition of Third Dimension, a fifteen-person technology firm based in the United Kingdom. The deal brings in a team specialized in converting real-world video data into interactive three-dimensional environments. This infrastructure is designed to stress-test Rivian's autonomous driving software.

TechCrunch first reported the transaction. Rivian did not disclose the purchase price. The acquired team joins Rivian's autonomy and AI group, which is led by James Philbin. Most of the staff are based in London, which expands Rivian's physical presence in the UK.

Third Dimension was founded in 2024. The founders bring direct experience from major autonomous vehicle programs. CEO Tolga Kart spent more than two years at Tesla working on Autopilot simulation. He previously served as a senior director on Call of Duty at Activision and led engineering at Parallel Domain. Cofounder Piotr Sokólski spent four years at Wayve building photorealistic neural simulators. The company raised a seven million dollar seed round in October 2024 led by Felicis.

The new system relies on data from Rivian's existing fleet. Owners of the R1S, R1T, R2, and commercial vans can opt into camera data sharing. Philbin stated that this network sends back more than 400,000 driving sequences every day. While most footage captures routine driving, the team extracts rare and difficult scenarios for testing.

These rare events include a mattress in the fast lane, a police officer waving traffic through a red light, or a child running between parked cars. Engineers can now recreate these specific scenes in a virtual environment. They can then alter variables to test how the software reacts to slight changes in the situation.

Philbin told TechCrunch that simulation is central to training and validating autonomous systems. He described the technology as turning real-world data into detailed 3D environments. This approach allows the team to test edge cases without waiting for them to occur on public roads.

The move aligns with a tighter timeline for Rivian's robotaxi ambitions. In March, Uber agreed to invest up to 1.25 billion dollars in Rivian. Only 300 million dollars is paid upfront. The remaining funds depend on meeting specific autonomy milestones. The primary goal is to place 10,000 driverless R2 vehicles on Uber's network in San Francisco and Miami starting in 2028.

Consumer features are also being adjusted. The point-to-point driving feature is scheduled to reach a small group of invited Autonomy+ owners later this year. Testers for this feature must sign a nondisclosure agreement. CEO RJ Scaringe promised eyes-off driving for 2026 in January 2025. That target has now shifted to 2027. Level 4 capability is planned for 2028 on the Gen 3 hardware shown at Rivian's AI and Autonomy Day.

Other companies are using similar techniques. Waymo unveiled its Waymo World Model in February. This tool uses Google DeepMind's Genie 3 to generate scenarios. Tesla has also demonstrated a neural world simulator for its Full Self-Driving software. Third Dimension's work focuses on rebuilding actual streets from existing fleet footage rather than generating them from scratch.

The acquisition adds specialized engineering capacity to Rivian's autonomy division. The team's background at Tesla and Wayve provides specific expertise in simulation for self-driving cars. The integration allows Rivian to process its massive daily data stream into usable test environments more efficiently.