LoveFrom, the creative agency founded by former Apple design chief Jony Ive, has been involved in developing Rivian’s first electric bike, multiple sources confirm.
Over approximately 18 months, a select group of LoveFrom designers collaborated with Rivian’s engineering and design teams within a secretive program headed by Chris Yu, previously Specialized’s chief product and technology officer. Sources revealed that LoveFrom’s involvement in the micromobility effort ended in the fall of 2024. Neither LoveFrom nor Rivian provided comment on the partnership.
The initiative operated as a skunkworks project within Rivian, eventually growing to around 70 individuals including veterans from major companies such as Apple, Tesla, Google, Specialized, and REI. Earlier this year, the project spun off under a new micromobility startup named Also, securing $105 million in financing from Eclipse Ventures.
While Also has yet to reveal official vehicle designs, Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe—who sits on the startup’s board—earlier indicated the product would be “bike-like,” featuring standard components such as two wheels, a seat, a screen, several computers, and a battery pack. Despite scant details so far, sources affirmed that LoveFrom’s distinctive design fingerprints would likely surface when Also publicly introduces its first vehicle later this year.
Although widely known for his groundbreaking designs at Apple—including the original iPhone—Jony Ive has become increasingly involved in transportation projects in recent years. In 2021, Ferrari publicly partnered with Ive’s firm to shape its next generation of luxury performance vehicles. Additionally, Ive previously championed a highly autonomous design direction within Apple’s famously secretive car initiative, a project ultimately shelved by Apple in early 2024.
Multiple sources indicated LoveFrom had previously consulted with Rivian, contributing to areas such as retail experience and the company’s redesigned infotainment system. Yet this micromobility collaboration represented an enhanced, more focused alliance between the two organizations.
The original aim of Rivian’s internal micromobility program, which launched in early 2022, was to explore applying the automaker’s electric vehicle technology into smaller, more affordable consumer formats. By early 2023—when LoveFrom joined—significant progress had already been made. Sources involved with the project described a close partnership that concentrated heavily on refining the prototypes, with LoveFrom’s designers working together with the skunkworks team and Rivian’s Irvine-based industrial designers.
According to insiders, LoveFrom’s seasoned industrial design group significantly shaped the project’s direction, contributing an interdisciplinary, global perspective. Their work particularly emphasized modular yet elevated aesthetics, user interface, and overall user experience—a hallmark of both Ive’s acclaimed past efforts and Rivian’s established design philosophy.
