Rivian (RIVN) mulls making its own lidar as it builds full autonomous driving stack

Rivian is considering manufacturing its own lidar sensors in the United States, potentially through a partnership with Chinese firms, as the EV maker aggressively vertically integrates its entire autonomous driving stack.

The move would add in-house lidar production to an autonomy strategy that already includes custom silicon chips and proprietary AI software — positioning Rivian as one of the most vertically integrated players in autonomous driving outside of Tesla and Waymo.

Rivian eyes domestic lidar production

According to a Reuters exclusive, Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe confirmed the company is in “active discussions” with lidar firms about producing sensors domestically rather than buying directly from Chinese suppliers.

The rationale is straightforward: Chinese companies like Hesai Group and RoboSense dominate the market for affordable, compact lidar sensors. But buying directly from Chinese suppliers raises national security concerns among U.S. lawmakers, creating supply chain risk for any automaker relying on the technology.