Rivian Buys UK Firm to Rebuild Fleet Video Into 3D Test Tracks

Rivian has acquired Third Dimension, a 15-person UK startup, to convert daily driving footage into three-dimensional test environments. The move directly addresses the volume of data generated by Rivian’s current fleet. Owners of R1S, R1T, R2, and commercial vans who opt into camera sharing send back more than 400,000 driving sequences every day. Most of this material shows routine traffic, but the rare events that stress self-driving software, such as a mattress in the fast lane or a child running between parked cars, are difficult to find in raw data.

By rebuilding these specific scenes in 3D, engineers can alter variables and test the system repeatedly without waiting for the real-world event to occur again. This approach allows the company to validate its software against edge cases that might otherwise take months to encounter on public roads.

The purchase price was not disclosed. TechCrunch first reported the deal. Third Dimension was founded in 2024 by Tolga Kart and Piotr Sokólski. Kart spent more than two years at Tesla working on Autopilot simulation and previously served as a senior director on Call of Duty at Activision. Sokólski spent four years at Wayve building photorealistic neural simulators for autonomous vehicles.

The startup raised a $7 million seed round in October 2024, led by Felicis. At the time, the company listed game studios, film production, the US military, and autonomous vehicle firms as potential customers. It described its technology as a generative AI tool that creates 3D environments compatible with game engines. The entire team is now joining Rivian’s autonomy and AI group.

James Philbin leads that group at Rivian. He noted that simulation is central to training and validating autonomous driving systems. Philbin said the acquired team has built technology that turns real-world data into detailed 3D environments. The deal also expands Rivian’s physical presence in London, where most of the Third Dimension staff are based.

Rivian is not the only automaker pursuing this strategy. Waymo unveiled its Waymo World Model in February, which is built on Google DeepMind’s Genie 3 technology to generate scenarios its vehicles have not yet encountered. Tesla has also demonstrated a neural world simulator for its Full Self-Driving software.

The acquisition occurs as Rivian faces specific financial and operational deadlines. In March, Uber agreed to invest up to $1.25 billion in Rivian to deploy R2 robotaxis. Only $300 million of that total is paid upfront. The remaining funds are contingent on autonomy milestones, starting with 10,000 driverless R2 vehicles operating on Uber’s network in San Francisco and Miami from 2028.

Consumer timelines have also shifted. Rivian’s point-to-point driving feature is scheduled to reach a small group of invited Autonomy+ owners later this year. Those testers must sign a nondisclosure agreement. The company initially promised eyes-off driving capability 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.