Doug Field, a prominent figure in the electric vehicle (EV) industry, has been appointed as the president of Mind Robotics, an industrial AI and robotics venture created by Rivian. This announcement was made during the TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 event, held from October 13-15 in San Francisco. Field's hiring marks a significant step for Mind Robotics as it prepares to scale its operations just one year after its founding.
Background on Doug Field
Field has an extensive background in the EV sector, having previously worked at Ford, Tesla, and even contributed to Apple's secretive car project, Project Titan. He was also the first employee at Segway. His experience includes shaping Ford's electric vehicle strategies over the past five years before leaving in April 2026 as part of a broader leadership reorganization.
Mind Robotics Overview
Mind Robotics has secured over $1 billion in funding from notable investors including Accel, Andreessen Horowitz, Eclipse, Kleiner Perkins, and the venture arms of Volkswagen and Salesforce. The startup aims to develop a full stack for industrial manufacturing, focusing on purpose-built robots that will automate industrial tasks at scale. Unlike humanoid robots being developed by competitors, Scaringe emphasizes that Mind Robotics will not attempt to replicate human biomechanics.
