Full Breakdown
Rivian’s Mind Robotics Appoints Former Ford EV Chief Doug Field as President
By Drooid · · How we work
Core Development: Field’s Appointment and Immediate Plans
On October 13, at the TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 conference in San Francisco, Rivian announced that Doug Field will serve as president of its industrial-AI spinoff Mind Robotics. Field will take charge of product, engineering and operations, while Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe will remain involved as chairman and continue to guide overall strategy.
Background & Context
Field’s résumé includes leading Apple’s Project Titan, overseeing Tesla’s Model 3 production as senior vice president of engineering, and heading Ford’s electric-vehicle and software division until his departure in April 2026 amid a broader leadership reshuffle. He was also employee No. 1 at Segway.
Mind Robotics was founded in 2025 by Scaringe as Rivian’s second independent venture, following the micromobility brand Also. The startup has raised more than $1 billion from investors such as Accel, Andreessen Horowitz, Eclipse, Kleiner Perkins, and the venture arms of Volkswagen and Salesforce. As of June 30, 2026, Rivian owned roughly one-third of Mind Robotics and a similar stake in Also. The company is on a hiring surge, listing 32 open positions, and has yet to showcase a working robot publicly.
Official Statements & Responses
Scaringe praised Field’s track record, noting that his “remarkable leadership” and ability to build teams suited the ambitious goal of deploying robots in real factories. Field described the integration of AI and robotics as one of the era’s most critical engineering challenges, emphasizing Mind Robotics’ unique advantage of training and learning inside Rivian’s high-volume manufacturing environment from day one.
Data & Statistics
- Funding: > $1 billion in venture capital.
- Rivian equity: ~33 % ownership in Mind Robotics (and in Also).
- Hiring: 32 current open positions.
Verbatim Quotes
- “Integrating AI and robotics is one of the most important — and difficult — engineering challenges of our time,” — Doug Field
- “Doug is a remarkable leader with a track record of delivering new technologies in successful products, and I couldn’t be more excited to be building Mind with him,” — Scaringe, to rivian CEO