Rivian buys small UK firm to turn fleet video into 3D test streets
The 15-person team will help process 400,000 daily clips to create rare driving scenarios for self-driving software.
By Sarah Montgomery ·
Rivian acquired Third Dimension on October 23, adding a 15-person UK-based team to its autonomy and AI division. The company did not reveal the purchase price for the deal, which was first reported by TechCrunch. The acquisition gives Rivian direct access to tools that rebuild real roads as 3D test environments.
Third Dimension was founded in 2024 by Tolga Kart, a former Tesla Autopilot engineer, and Piotr Sokólski, who spent four years at Wayve. Both founders have deep experience in building simulation tools for self-driving cars. The startup raised $7 million in a seed round led by Felicis in October 2024. It described its technology as a generative AI tool that creates 3D environments ready for game engines.
James Philbin, who leads Rivian's autonomy and AI group, said simulation is central to training and validating their systems. He noted that the new team has built impressive technology that turns real-world data into detailed 3D environments. The entire staff is joining Rivian's internal team, which also expands the company's presence in London.
The new process relies on footage from Rivian owners who opt into camera data sharing. Philbin said the fleet sends back more than 400,000 driving sequences every day. While most of this material shows uneventful drives, rare events are critical for testing. Examples include a mattress in the fast lane, a police officer waving traffic through a red light, or a child running out between parked cars. Engineers can now recreate these specific scenes in 3D and alter variables rather than waiting months for them to occur naturally.
Other major players are using similar strategies. Waymo unveiled a world model in February that generates scenarios its vehicles have not encountered. Tesla has also demonstrated a neural world simulator for its Full Self-Driving software. These efforts aim to solve the problem of rare edge cases in autonomous driving.
The acquisition adds urgency to Rivian's robotaxi plans. In March, Uber agreed to invest up to $1.25 billion in Rivian to deploy R2 robotaxis. Only $300 million of that investment is paid up front. The remainder depends on Rivian meeting autonomy milestones, starting with 10,000 driverless R2 vehicles on Uber's network in San Francisco and Miami by 2028.
Rivian's consumer timelines have shifted recently. A point-to-point driving feature is due to reach invited Autonomy+ owners later this year under a nondisclosure agreement. CEO RJ Scaringe originally promised eyes-off driving for 2026 in January 2025, but that target is now set for 2027. Level 4 capability is planned for 2028 on the Gen 3 hardware shown at the company's AI & Autonomy Day.
