Exclusive: Jony Ive’s LoveFrom helped to design Rivian’s first electric bicycle | Techcrunch

LoveFrom, the creative company founded by former Apple Chief Designer Jony Ive, played a role in the development of Rivian’s first electric bicycle, according to several sources that spoke with Techcrunch.

For about 18 months, a handful of LoveFrom employees worked together with the design team and engineers of Rivian within a Sinkworks program led by the former main product and technology officer Chris Yu from Specialized. LoveFrom’s work on the Micromobility project ended in the autumn of 2024, according to the sources.

LoveFrom and Rivian refused to comment.

Rivian’s SunkRorks program, which ultimately grew into a team of about 70 people from Apple, Google, Specialized, Tesla and Rei Co-op, spun earlier this year with a new name and $ 105 million in financing Eclipse Ventures.

The startup of the micromobility, also mentioned, has to show off its first vehicle designs. In interviews with Techcrunch, Rivian founder and CEO RJ Scaringe (who is also on the board of the board) and Yu were Cagey about what the first vehicle of the new company would look like.

“There is a chair and there are two wheels, there is a screen and there are a few computers and a battery,” said Scaringe in March. He also said that it will be ‘cycling -like’, a description confirmed by sources.

But both Scaringe and Yu also spoke about a much larger vision, one where theoretically almost every conceivable form factor of micromobility could tackle. The new company is supposed to reveal its first designs during an event later this year. A spokesperson also refused to comment on his bike or a connection with LoveFrom.

When the electric “bicycle” is unveiled, it is possible that the fingerprints of IVE will be completely over it.

I am best known as the design power behind the iPhone and countless other Apple products, and most recently, for his work with Sam Altman and OpenAi. But his collaboration with Rivian is not his first trip to the transport industry.

Ferrari’s parent company announced In 2021, the IVE company would help develop the next generation of vehicles from the Italian supercar manufacturer. IVE was also involved in Apple’s secret car project. He was Allegedly one of the most important proponents To center the long -term Apple car project around autonomy, while other people in the company insist on a more traditional electric car. Apple left that project early last year.

Sources told Techcrunch that IVE’s LoveFrom has detected as a consultant for Rivian in the past, including on the re -designed infotainment system and the retail trade of the company, including, according to two former employees with knowledge of the relationship. But its involvement in what would also be a more structured and dedicated effort, said another source that was familiar with the relationship.

The SUNKRYKS program started to take shape at the beginning of 2022 with a guideline to investigate whether the EV technology of Rivian could be condensed in something smaller and more affordable than its electric vans, trucks and SUVs.

Initially, the small team worked with Rivian designers to develop a product that could scale to different types of vehicles. An important design challenge was how you can make the bicycle -like product modular, while you can still retain the raised aesthetics that Rivian has become known for.

By the time LoveFrom was involved in the project at the beginning of 2023, a lot of work was completed, according to sources that said they helped to refine the prototypes.

The relationship was described as a “pretty sleek” collaboration between the SUNKRY Team, the staff of LoveFrom and the industrial designers from Rivian’s head office in Irvine. This group looked at everything, including the user interface and UX for the bike.

The industrial design team of LoveFrom, which has a lot of experience with thoughtful and smart packaging, was mainly involved, according to a source, which stated that the team brought an interdisciplinary and international perspective to the project.