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LOVEFROM, the creative company founded by the former chief designer of Apple, Jony IVE, played a role in the development of Rivian’s first electric bike, according to several sources that spoke in Techcrunch.
For about 18 months, a handful of LOVEFROM staff worked alongside the Rivian design team and engineers in a SKUNKWORKS program led by the former Chief of Specialized Products and Technologies, Chris Yu. The work of Lovefrom on the micromomability project ended in the fall of 2024, according to the sources.
Lovefrom and Rivian refused to comment.
The Rivian Skunkworks program, which finally reached a team of around 70 people from Apple, Google, Specialized, Tesla and Rei Coop, Spun earlier this year With a new name and $ 105 million in Eclipse Ventures funding.
The micromobility startup, also called, has not yet shown its first vehicle conceptions. In interviews with Techcrunch, the founder and CEO of Rivian, RJ Scargen (who is on the table too) and Yu, were Cagey about what the new vehicle of the new company would look like.
“There is a seat, and there are two wheels, there is a screen, and there are a few computers and a battery,” said Scargen in March. He also said that it would be “similar to a bicycle,” confirmed a description by sources.
But Scarenge and Yu spoke of a much greater vision for also, where he could theoretically tackle almost all the imaginable micromobility form factors. The new company is supposed to reveal its first conceptions during an event later this year. A spokesperson also refused to comment on his bike or any link with Lovefrom.
When the electric “bike” is revealed, it is possible that fingerprints of 4th is everywhere.
IVE is best known for being the design force behind the iPhone and a myriad of other Apple products, and more recently, for its Work with Sam Altman and Openai. But his collaboration with Rivian is not his first foray into the transport industry.
Ferrari’s parent company announcement In 2021, IVE’s company would help develop new generation vehicles from the Italian supercar manufacturer. IVE was also involved in the Apple SECREC Car Project. He was would have one of the main supporters To center the longtime car project of Apple around autonomy, while other people inside the company have pressure for a more traditional electric car. Apple abandoned this project at the start of last year.
Sources have told Techcrunch that Lovefrom d’Ive had acted as a consultant for Rivian in the past, including on the company redesigned the company and retail, among other areas, according to two former employees knowing the relationship. But his involvement in what was going to become was also a more structured and dedicated effort, said another familiar source with the relationship.
The Skunkworks program started to take shape at the beginning of 2022 with a directive to explore if the Rivian EV technology could be condensed in something smaller and more affordable than its electric, truck and SUV van.
Initially, the small team worked with Rivian designers to develop a product that could evolve towards different types of vehicles. A key design challenge was how to make the product in the shape of a modular bicycle while maintaining the high aesthetics that Rivian has become known.
As Lovefrom got involved in the project in early 2023, a lot of work had been completed, according to sources that said they had helped refine the prototypes.
The relationship has been described as a “fairly tight” collaboration between the Skunkworks team, Lovefrom staff and industrial designers based on the headquarters of Rivian in Irvine. This group has examined everything, including the user interface and UX for the bicycle.
The industrial design team of Lovefrom, which has a lot of experience with thoughtful and intelligent packaging, was particularly involved, according to a source, which noted that the team had brought an interdisciplinary and international perspective to the project.
