Rivian announced on Tuesday it is partnering with WeaveGrid, a San Francisco-based company developing charging software for electric vehicles.
The collaboration aims to provide customers with grid-integrated smart charging capabilities “later this year,” according to a statement released by the two companies.
Rivian drivers will be able to join WeaveGrid utility programs, where they can earn money by charging at times that help reduce stress on the electric grid.
The program allows customers to shift charging to when energy is cheaper, thus helping keep energy costs lower.
That way, “Rivian can reduce the costs of home charging and support a more reliable and cleaner grid for everyone.”
According to the same statement, 80% of EV charges happen at home and “coordinating across 3,000+ U.S. utilities remains a challenge” for OEMs.
Rivian‘s “software-first approach” means that its smart charging features can be regularly improved and updated to match utility and grid requirements.
This collaboration comes as the company rolls out a new software update, in which its Energy App has been overhauled and split in two sections — the Energy Monitor tab and the Charging tab.
The update aims to improve charging speed and efficiency, introducing the ability for owners to manually precondition the high-voltage battery for faster DC charging.
Rivian‘s chief of software, Wassym Bensaid, said earlier this month that the company would soon unveil a smart charging feature, allowing customers to time their home-charging sessions.
Regarding energy, the company also intends to launch a bidirectional charging feature in 2026, allowing people to use their vehicle as mobile power generators. This will make Rivian‘s EVs able to charge other devices, other vehicles and even homes.
The company sold 3,688 vehicles in the U.S. in May, up 1.9% from a year ago, according to data released on Tuesday by Motor Intelligence.
Last week, chief executive officer RJ Scaringe said in an interview with Bloomberg that 2026 will be a “really critical year” for the company as it starts deliveries of the $45,000 SUV R2.
The brand’s lineup in its domestic market includes the R1S SUV, which starts at $75,900 for the Dual Standard variant, $83,900 for the Dual-Motor, and $105,900 for the Tri-Motor. The R1T pickup starts at $69,900.
According to Scaringe, if Rivian takes its “brand success” and “translates that to a much bigger market with R2, continues to invest in our technology stack (…), the rest will take care of itself.”
