The story behind our name
04-24-2025
There are a million ways to name a company. You can mash up letters into something that sounds cool, borrow a word that already means something, or tie it directly to the product or service. We explored all of it.
We started by looking back into Rivian’s early days to see what might surface. That process became a bit of a memory dive, pulling up old images from early studio spaces, flipping through forgotten files, remembering decisions we made and remade a dozen times. We thought maybe we’d find inspiration in the name of a street we once worked on, or a specific moment in time. Something that anchored us.
But what actually came through wasn’t a single place or detail. It was a mindset
What stood out was the consistent instinct to never settle for the obvious. To always ask, “What else could this be?” Even when we were told something wouldn’t work or that we were being naive, we kept going. That belief, that there’s always another way, was at the heart of everything we did.
That was the “also.”
The name ALSO emerged as a quiet rejection of the idea that progress is linear or singular. In a world full of either/or decisions, this company was built on the belief that and, or more specifically, also, is where real possibility lives. It reflects a culture that doesn’t default to what’s expected, but instead imagines alternative paths, layered meanings, and new solutions.
And that’s why it’s punctuated: ALSO. With a period.
Full stop.
A moment of clarity.
A new lens.
A reminder that the option you haven’t considered might be the one that changes everything.
