Automotive lidar startup Luminar to merge with Gores Metropoulos
Automotive lidar technology startup Luminar Technologies (Orlando, FL) has entered into a definitive agreement to merge with Gores Metropoulos (Beverly Hills, CA), a special-purpose acquisition company sponsored by an affiliate of The Gores Group. Upon completion of the transaction, the combined company will retain the Luminar Technologies name and will remain listed on Nasdaq under the new ticker symbol LAZR.
Founded in 2012 by CEO Austin Russell, Luminar is partnered with seven of the top 10 global automakers and is set to power the introduction of highway self-driving and next-generation safety systems. With over 350 employees, the company has built a new type of lidar from the chip-level up with breakthroughs across all core components. As a result, the company has created a lidar sensor that meets the stringent performance, safety, and cost requirements for Level 3–Level 5 autonomous vehicles. Integrating this advanced hardware with the company’s custom developed software stack enables a turnkey autonomous solution to accelerate widespread adoption with automakers.
Starting in 2022, Luminar’s hardware and software will be integrated into Volvo’s global vehicle platform, the foundation for their next generation of consumer vehicles. In parallel, the company’s technology will also enable a new benchmark for vehicle safety surpassing today’s advanced driving assistance systems (ADAS) with proactive safety features.
Following completion of the transaction, Luminar will retain its experienced management team. Founder Austin Russell will continue to serve as CEO and Tom Fennimore will continue to serve as CFO. Alec Gores will join the Luminar board of directors upon closing of the transaction.
Luminar has also scaled its software team with the addition of 16 former members of Samsung's Munich-based DRVLINE platform team that were previously responsible for delivering ADAS functionality to its mobility customers. Luminar will leverage this team to bring a full-stack lidar-based ADAS and Level 4 highway autonomy product offering to market.
For more information, please visit luminartech.com.
Source: Luminar Technologies press release – August 24, 2020
LFW Staff
Published since 1965, Laser Focus World—a brand and magazine for engineers, researchers, scientists, and technical professionals—provides comprehensive global coverage of optoelectronic technologies, applications, and markets. With 80,000+ qualified print subscribers in print and over a half-million annual visitors to our online content, we are the go-to source to access decision makers and stay in-the-know.