Rivian (RIVN.US) is considering partnering with a Chinese company to produce its own LiDAR technology to compete with Tesla, Inc. in autonomous driving.

Rivian Automotive (RIVN.US) CEO RJ Scaringe said in an interview on Tuesday that the company is considering producing its own laser radar sensors and may collaborate with a Chinese company for production. The California-based electric vehicle manufacturer launched a program last year to independently develop chips as part of its overall strategy to develop proprietary autonomous driving technology that will compete with products from Tesla, Inc. (TSLA.US). Scaringe stated that this move is part of Rivian's strategy to independently develop autonomous driving technology in order to compete with rivals such as Tesla, Inc. As an extension of this strategy, Rivian initiated a self-developed chip project last year and plans to incorporate laser radar sensors in a version of the R2 model set to be launched later this year. These sensors can help autonomous vehicles obtain a three-dimensional image of the road. Rivian has not disclosed the supplier of its laser radar sensors. The sensors on the prototype vehicles are much smaller than the large rotating sensors commonly seen on self-driving taxis designed by Alphabet's subsidiary Waymo in San Francisco and other city streets. Chinese suppliers like Hesai Group Sponsored ADR and ROBOSENSE have dominated the market for small, inexpensive laser radar sensors. During an interview in San Francisco, Scaringe stated that Rivian is considering using Chinese technology to produce laser radar sensors in the United States, rather than sourcing directly from Chinese suppliers, possibly through a joint venture. Scaringe mentioned that for sensors required by car manufacturers like Rivian, which need to be priced in the "low hundreds of dollars," the "real choices all come from China." Scaringe said, "You can think about it as finding a structural way to absorb this technology. From the early laser radars that many of us have seen here to the more advanced solid-state laser radars we see now, these advancements are not happening in the U.S., they are happening in China." Scaringe mentioned that Rivian is in "active discussions" with laser radar companies, which may also involve other car manufacturers. Rivian is investing "hundreds of millions of dollars" into its custom chip project, with the first chip, internally referred to as the Rivian Autonomous Processing Unit or RAP-1, set to be unveiled this year. The car manufacturer plans to release a new chip "every few years," with RAP-2 and RAP-3 being the follow-up products to the first chip, utilizing chip technology manufacturing that is more powerful than Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Sponsored ADR's 5-nanometer process technology used for RAP-1 production. Scaringe added, "This is not just throwing a couple hundred million dollars in and calling it good. We've built a team. This team will continue to develop future versions of this platform."