LoveFrom, Jony Ive’s design shop, helped build Rivian’s first electric bike, TechCrunch reports.
The secret collaboration lasted about 18 months. LoveFrom designers worked alongside Rivian engineers inside a skunkworks team led by former Specialized exec Chris Yu. Their involvement wrapped up in fall 2024, sources say.
Both LoveFrom and Rivian declined to comment. 
The skunkworks team grew to roughly 70 people, pulling talent from Apple, Google, Tesla, and more. Early 2024, it spun out as a startup called Also, backed by $105 million from Eclipse Ventures.
Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe and Yu have stayed quiet on what Also’s first ride will look like. Scaringe described it vaguely earlier this year:
“There’s a seat, and there’s two wheels, there’s a screen, and there’s a few computers and a battery.”
Multiple sources confirm it’s a bike-like form.
Also aims to tackle a wide range of micromobility vehicles. The company plans to reveal its first product later this year. Also declined to comment on its bike or LoveFrom connection.
Ive is best known for shaping the iPhone but also worked with Ferrari and Apple’s scrapped car project. The firm helped Ferrari with next-gen vehicle design and reportedly championed autonomous features in Apple’s car effort before it was canceled in early 2023.
Sources told TechCrunch LoveFrom consulted for Rivian before on stuff like infotainment redesigns. But the Also project was a more serious, integrated effort.
The skunkworks started in early 2022. The goal: shrink Rivian’s EV tech into something smaller, cheaper, and modular while keeping the sleek Rivian look.
LoveFrom joined in early 2023 to refine prototypes and lead user interface and product design. The collaboration was “pretty tight” between LoveFrom, Rivian’s industrial designers, and the skunkworks team.
Sources say LoveFrom’s industrial design pros brought an international, cross-disciplinary style to the electric bike project.
Expect Ive’s design style to show up big when Also finally reveals its new electric bike.
