Doug Field Joins Rivian Spinoff Mind Robotics as President to Lead Industrial AI Efforts

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Mind Robotics, a Rivian spinoff focused on industrial AI and robotics, has appointed Doug Field—former Ford EV chief and Apple and Tesla veteran—as president to scale operations and develop production-focused robotic systems.

Mind Robotics, an industrial AI and robotics startup spun off from electric vehicle maker Rivian in 2025, has appointed Doug Field as its new president. Field, a veteran automotive and tech executive with a storied background at Ford, Tesla, and Apple, will oversee the company's product, engineering, and operations as Mind Robotics prepares to expand its capabilities.

At Ford, Field served as the head of electric vehicle strategy and technology before departing in April 2026 amid a leadership reshuffle. Previously, he was a senior vice president of engineering at Tesla, where he played a crucial role in the development and production ramp-up of the Tesla Model 3. Additionally, Field led Apple’s clandestine automotive initiative, Project Titan, which was ultimately shelved in 2024.

Mind Robotics aims to build a comprehensive technology stack for automating industrial manufacturing tasks at scale. Unlike other robotics efforts focused on humanoid designs, Mind Robotics focuses on purpose-built industrial robots driven by foundation AI models. Rivian serves as their primary testing ground, providing a high-volume manufacturing environment for real-time model training and deployment.

Founder and CEO RJ Scaringe expressed enthusiasm about Field joining the company, highlighting their shared vision for the thoughtful integration of robotics into society and industry. Scaringe remains involved with Mind Robotics but has delegated daily leadership responsibilities to Field to tap into his extensive automotive and engineering expertise.

Mind Robotics has already secured over $1 billion in funding from top-tier investors including Accel, Andreessen Horowitz, Kleiner Perkins, Eclipse, and corporate venture arms of Volkswagen and Salesforce, underscoring strong confidence in its industrial automation mission.

This leadership hire follows another recent Rivian spinoff, Also, which operates in the micromobility space starting with high-end electric bikes and similarly runs independently with Rivian holding minority shares.

Doug Field stated, “Integrating AI and robotics is one of the most important—and difficult—engineering challenges of our time. Mind has assembled an exceptional team and has a unique advantage: the ability to deploy and learn inside a real, high-volume factory from day one. I’m thrilled to join RJ in building a team, culture, and technology that will redefine what we can make in America.”