For professionals pushing the boundaries of XR, creating the most immersive and highest fidelity experiences is always challenging. Demanding XR workflows push the performance limits when rendering massive datasets and driving the latest ultra-high-resolution advanced XR headsets. Simultaneously integrating advanced artificial intelligence capabilities for more interactive and intuitive experiences raises the bar even further.
While technically challenging, these factors are driving both hardware and software innovations to achieve the full potential of XR in fields such as automotive design, architecture design, manufacturing, and beyond.
The announcement of the NVIDIA RTX PRO Blackwell desktop GPUs at NVIDIA GTC 2025 marks a significant step forward. These next-generation GPUs feature up to 600W power capacity and 96 GB of GDDR7 memory, an increase in both Tensor and CUDA cores, and PCIe Gen5 enabling VR-SLI capabilities for using dual GPUs, representing a major advancement.
RTX PRO Blackwell GPUs are engineered to tackle the performance requirements of demanding XR workflows, unlocking new levels of creativity and efficiency for enterprises seeking photorealistic immersion and intelligent AI functions in their XR applications. This includes the ability to support multi-modal AI workflows, enabling context-aware virtual AI assistants for streamlined interaction with complex applications and empowering users to immersively generate stunning content.
As a result, designers are now seamlessly navigating and iterating on designs within an XR environment using intuitive voice commands, receiving AI-powered suggestions and real-time feedback without the need for traditional handheld controllers.
Rivian
Rivian, an automaker known for its innovative electric vehicle design and its commitment to leveraging cutting-edge technologies, has long recognized the transformative potential of XR in its design process.
Their goal is to create immersive, interactive design reviews that enhance collaboration, accelerate iteration, and ultimately lead to superior vehicle design.
While Rivian has been leveraging XR using Autodesk VRED and Varjo XR-4 for advanced visualization and collaboration, they required a significant performance boost to achieve the desired level of visual accuracy and interactivity. Their recent testing of the NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell Workstation Edition GPUs demonstrates a major leap towards realizing this enhanced vision.
Accelerating photorealistic XR design
Rivian’s innovative approach to overcoming the challenges of high-fidelity XR design reviews focused on integrating the most advanced hardware and software solutions. Recognizing the critical need for immense graphics processing power and memory bandwidth, they tested the newly announced NVIDIA RTX PRO GPUs.
Their implementation strategically leveraged key features of the NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell Workstation Edition GPUs engineered for demanding XR workloads: accelerated XR performance and a large frame buffer for enhanced VR performance.
Accelerated XR performance with XR-focused innovations
The RTX PRO 6000 GPU delivers up to 80% faster rendering (in Autodesk VRED with Varjo XR-4 compared to the NVIDIA RTX 6000 Ada GPU), ensuring stunning visuals at super-smooth frame rates. This significant performance gain enables Rivian’s design team to experience incredibly sharp and detailed visuals crucial for critical design evaluations.
Rivian also harnessed the power of dual RTX PRO GPUs through VR-SLI. This multi-GPU technology, operating over the high-bandwidth PCIe Gen 5 interface, dedicates one GPU to rendering the view for each eye in the Varjo XR-4 headset. It further enhances performance for the most complex XR applications and delivers incredibly sharp, photorealistic visuals with optimized latency.
Large frame buffer for handling complex datasets, enabling advanced AI workflows
With 96 GB of GDDR7 memory, the RTX PRO 6000 GPU enabled Rivian’s design team to work seamlessly with massive and intricate vehicle models, such as their California Dune Edition, within Autodesk VRED without any compromise in detail or performance.
The large amount of high-performance memory also made it possible to combine large AI models with XR workflows to completely redefine the interactions of design reviews. Using NVIDIA Blackwell dedicated AI Tensor Cores and NVIDIA NIM microservices, the system directly responded to voice-driven commands about the specifications and available configurations of the vehicle.
Elevating Rivian’s XR design workflow
The integration of RTX PRO GPUs into Rivian’s design review process has yielded significant advancements, showcasing the transformative potential for the entire XR community:
- Unmatched visual fidelity: The VR-SLI configuration enabled the creation of exceptionally sharp and photorealistic graphics within the Varjo XR-4 headset and Autodesk VRED environment. This significantly enhanced level of visual clarity is essential for making precise design decisions and identifying even the finest nuances with confidence.
- Boosted efficiency and sustainable practices: By facilitating ultra-realistic visualization, Rivian can significantly reduce its dependence on resource-intensive and costly physical prototypes. This shift towards virtual prototyping not only accelerates the design iteration cycle but also promotes a more sustainable and cost-effective approach to vehicle development.
- Intuitive interaction powered by AI: The successful demonstration of AI-driven voice activation highlights how natural language interaction can fundamentally change the design review process. You can now make real-time adjustments, explore various design options, and access information by using voice commands, leading to a more streamlined and efficient workflow.
These achievements underscore the substantial advantages that RTX PRO 6000 GPUs bring to the XR landscape. Professionals across diverse industries, including automotive, architecture, engineering, and construction, manufacturing, and healthcare, can use this unprecedented power to create more compelling, interactive, and efficient XR experiences.
The ability to seamlessly handle massive datasets, achieve remarkable rendering speeds, and integrate AI functionalities opens up a new realm of possibilities for design, collaboration, and advanced visualization.
The future of XR design, accelerated by NVIDIA Blackwell
Rivian’s experience with the RTX PRO 6000 GPUs offers an exciting preview of the future of XR-powered workflows.
As Jeff Hammoud, chief design officer at Rivian Automotive, said, “NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell Workstation Edition GPUs enabled incredibly sharp and photorealistic graphics. In conjunction with a Varjo XR-4 headset and Autodesk VRED, the system delivered the level of crispness necessary for immersive automotive design reviews. With NVIDIA Blackwell support for PCIe Gen 5, we used two powerful 600W GPUs via VR-SLI, allowing us to achieve the highest pixel density and the most stunning visuals we have ever experienced in VR.”
The immense power of NVIDIA RTX PRO GPUs will continue to drive innovation, enabling Rivian and other organizations to push the boundaries of what’s achievable in XR. To dive deeper into the capabilities of NVIDIA RTX PRO GPUs for professional XR workflows, explore NVIDIA RTX PRO in desktops.
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