Key facts
- Doug Field has been appointed president of Mind Robotics.
- Mind Robotics is an industrial AI and robotics venture spun out of Rivian.
- Field previously worked on EVs at Ford and Tesla, and led Apple's Project Titan.
- Mind Robotics aims to automate industrial and manufacturing tasks at scale.
- Rivian will serve as Mind Robotics' first customer.
- Rivian holds a minority stake of about one-third in Mind Robotics.
Doug Field, an executive with extensive experience in electric vehicles and technology from roles at Ford, Tesla, and Apple, has been appointed president of Mind Robotics, a new industrial AI and robotics venture created by Rivian. Field's appointment signals the startup's readiness to scale its operations.
Mind Robotics, founded last year, is developing a comprehensive system for industrial manufacturing, aiming to automate tasks at scale using purpose-built robots powered by foundation models. Unlike some competitors, Mind Robotics' robots will not replicate human biomechanics. Rivian will act as the startup's initial customer, providing a real-world, high-volume manufacturing environment for testing and deploying the technology.
Field, who departed Ford in April after five years leading its EV and technology strategies, expressed his enthusiasm for the role. "Integrating AI and robotics is one of the most important—and difficult—engineering challenges of our time," Field stated. "Mind has assembled an exceptional team and has a unique advantage: the ability to deploy and learn inside a real, high-volume factory from day one."
Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe, who remains involved with Mind Robotics, sought Field for the leadership position, citing strong alignment in their vision for the company's mission and their approaches to building teams and culture. Mind Robotics has secured over $1 billion in backing from investors including Accel, Andreessen Horowitz, Eclipse, and Kleiner Perkins, as well as venture arms from Volkswagen and Salesforce.