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Luminar 

A portion of Austin Kingsley Russell’s holdings was transferred to two Grantor Retained Annuity Trusts (GRATs), the “AKR Luminar Holdings Family Trust GRAT A” and the "AKR Luminar Holdings Family Trust GRAT B" prior to year-end.

About GRATs: GRATs are common financial instruments generally used to optimize tax related strategies. Following the transfer of assets to the GRAT, appreciation that occurs beyond a market-rate interest return is tax-free to its beneficiaries.

A transfer to a GRAT does not constitute an acquisition or sale of the underlying assets. In this case, the beneficiaries remain in Russell’s family.

Information on Founder's Transfer of Holdings to Trust (GRAT)

.-- Luminar (Nasdaq: LAZR), a leading global automotive technology company, today announced two new key executive hires to help guide the company through its next phase of rapid growth.



 joins Luminar as the Executive Vice President of Engineering. Dr. Foster's extensive experience includes executive and leadership positions at Lyft, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, and other innovative technology companies. Throughout his career, Dr. Foster has successfully launched groundbreaking products from concept to high volume production – including such iconic devices as the iMac, MacBook, MacPro, Kindle, and Kindle Fire. Dr. Foster holds a BA, MA, and Doctorate in Philosophy in Electrical Engineering and Computer Vision from the University of Oxford.

 joins Luminar as the Senior Vice President of Communications. Prior to Luminar, John led global communications at Meta. He was also Vice President for marketing and communications at Microsoft Co-Founder Paul Allen’s Vulcan. John also led communications at Pershing Square Capital Management and helped guide the $20B hedge fund through the European IPO of Pershing Square Holdings, Ltd. John served as head of communications at Gates Ventures where he managed Bill Gates’ executive communications and helped to launch his popular blog, The Gates Notes. Additionally, John led the Asia-Pacific communications team for Google, and held various senior communications roles at Microsoft. He holds degrees in philosophy, history and theology.


“David and John are joining Luminar at a key moment for the company as we move to production and deployment of our LiDAR technology on broadly available passenger cars. Industrializing a complex, safety-critical technology at scale in the automotive industry requires a unique skill set. It calls for a special combination of business and engineering excellence, which David has repeatedly demonstrated in prior roles. As our technology will soon be on passenger cars, John’s extensive experience in managing communications for some of the biggest brands in the world will help us educate car buyers on the benefits of LiDAR technology and Luminar’s focus on their safety.” said Luminar Founder and CEO, Austin Russell.

“I am delighted to be joining Luminar at this exciting time for the company and the industry,” said David Foster. “The products in development at Luminar will make a profoundly positive impact on the lives of motorists around the world. It is an honor to join the team in the important mission of driving this critical safety feature into every future vehicle.”

“How Luminar technology will improve driver safety is the best kind of story to tell,” said John Pinette. “This cutting-edge technology will have immediate benefits to our communities. I’m excited to be joining my new colleagues in marketing and communications to get the word out on these groundbreaking advances.”




Luminar is a global automotive technology company ushering in a new era of vehicle safety and autonomy. For the past decade, Luminar has built an advanced hardware and software/AI platform to enable its more than 50 industry partners, including the majority of global automotive OEMs. From consumer vehicle programs with Volvo Cars and Mercedes-Benz to technology partnerships including NVIDIA and Mobileye, Luminar is poised to be the first automotive technology company to enable next-generation safety and autonomous capabilities for global production vehicles. For more information please visit 

Luminar Attracts Former Executives From Lyft, Apple and Meta, Microsoft

Many of you have been asking about Polestar 4 since the Mobileye announcement a few months ago. Today we are happy to answer that question with the announcement that Polestar, Mobileye and Luminar intend to equip the Polestar 4 with Luminar LiDAR and Mobileye’s Chauffeur system.

This announcement is the result of our ongoing partnership not only with Polestar, but also with Mobileye. The Polestar 4 will be the third production vehicle that will use Luminar LiDAR. It is also the first announced passenger vehicle to be based on Mobileye’s Chauffeur system equipped with Luminar LiDAR.

This follows years of development work between Luminar and Mobileye on its Level 4 Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) product and Autonomous Vehicle series solution, and our work is now being leveraged into consumer production vehicles.

The official press release is included below. We have no doubt that this will be a fruitful partnership with both Polestar and Mobileye, and we look forward to future success and more to come.

Polestar is working with Luminar, a leading automotive technology company, and Mobileye, a global leader in autonomous driving solutions, to enhance safety and the future autonomous driving capabilities of Polestar 4 with the integration of Luminar’s next-generation LiDAR technology with Mobileye's Chauffeur platform.

, Polestar 4 is planned to be the first production car to feature Mobileye Chauffeur, now with Luminar LiDAR, which builds upon the full-surround camera-based SuperVision platform available in Polestar 4 from launch. Together, the three companies aim to offer eyes-off, point-to point autonomous driving on highways, as well as eyes-on automated driving for other environments.

With Mobileye Chauffeur, Polestar 4 is set to feature three Mobileye EyeQ6 processors, a front-facing LiDAR from Luminar, and Mobileye’s front-facing imaging radar to provide the extra layer of sensing and artificial intelligence needed to enable eyes-off, hands-off driving.

LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) uses lasers to create a highly detailed 3D map of the surrounding environment. Luminar’s LiDAR is uniquely engineered from chip-level up and with a higher wavelength, enabling the greatest level of performance and safety capabilities for production cars. When coupled with Mobileye’s Chauffeur platform, the result will be a turnkey, safer and high-performing automated system.

Building on the existing relationship between Luminar and Mobileye, the integration of Luminar LiDAR into Polestar 4 also expands the 

Thomas Ingenlath, Polestar CEO, says: “Polestar 4 comes with the highly advanced Mobileye SuperVision ADAS from the start, and we look forward to expanding that with Mobileye Chauffeur in the future. Being able to add Luminar’s industry-leading LiDAR to the platform’s development increases the strong link between our companies and brings even more world-class technology to Polestar 4.”

Prof. Amnon Shashua, CEO of Mobileye, says: “Combining our base SuperVision with an independent second redundant perception system – consisting of Luminar LiDAR, radars and an imaging radar – enables true redundancy and a level of accuracy that lays the foundation for fully autonomous driving.”

Austin Russell, founder and CEO of Luminar, says: “After collaborating with Mobileye on a solution since 2019, the true fruits of our labour with them are being realised for the first time by transitioning out of R&D and into a production vehicle with Polestar. Together, we look forward to raising the benchmark in the industry for what a safe and autonomous future can look like.”




Luminar is a global automotive technology company ushering in a new era of vehicle safety and autonomy. For the past decade, Luminar has built an advanced hardware and software/AI platform to enable its more than 50 industry partners, including the majority of global automotive OEMs. From consumer vehicle programs with Volvo Cars and Mercedes Benz to technology partnerships including NVIDIA and Mobileye, Luminar is poised to be the first automotive technology company to enable next-generation safety and autonomous capabilities for global production vehicles. For more information please visit 


Mobileye (Nasdaq: MBLY) leads the mobility revolution with its autonomous driving and driver-assistance technologies, harnessing world-renowned expertise in computer vision, artificial intelligence, mapping, and data analysis. Since its founding in 1999, Mobileye has pioneered such groundbreaking technologies as REM™ crowdsourced mapping, True Redundancy™ sensing, and Responsibility Sensitive Safety (RSS). These technologies are driving the ADAS and AV fields towards the future of mobility – enabling self-driving vehicles and mobility solutions, powering industry-leading advanced driver-assistance systems and delivering valuable intelligence to optimize mobility infrastructure. To date, more than 150 million vehicles worldwide have been built with Mobileye technology inside. In 2022 Mobileye listed as an independent company separate from Intel (Nasdaq: INTC), which retains majority ownership. For more information, visit 


Polestar (Nasdaq: PSNY) is the Swedish electric performance car brand determined to improve society by using design and technology to accelerate the shift to sustainable mobility. Headquartered in Gothenburg, Sweden, its cars are available online in 27 markets globally across North America, Europe and Asia Pacific.

Polestar plans to have a line-up of five performance EVs by 2026. Polestar 2, the electric performance fastback, launched in 2019. Polestar 3, the SUV for the electric age, launched in late 2022. Polestar 4, the SUV coupé transformed, is launching in phases through 2023 and into 2024. Polestar 5, an electric four-door GT and Polestar 6, an electric roadster, are coming soon.

The Polestar 0 project supports the company’s ambitious goal of creating a truly climate neutral production car by 2030. The research initiative also aims to create a sense of urgency to act on the climate crisis, by challenging employees, suppliers and the wider automotive industry, to drive towards zero. For more information, visit 


This press release contains statements that are not historical facts, but rather forward looking statements within the meaning of Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements include those that address activities, events or developments that Polestar or its management believes or anticipates may occur in the future, including further developments regarding the integration of Luminar LiDAR into Mobileye Chauffeur into Polestar vehicles and the development of safe autonomous driving systems. All forward-looking statements are based upon our current expectations, various assumptions and data available from third parties. Our expectations and assumptions are expressed in good faith and we believe there is a reasonable basis for them. However, there can be no assurance that such forward-looking statements will materialize or prove to be correct as forward-looking statements are inherently subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause actual future results, performance or achievements to differ materially from the future results, performance or achievements expressed in or implied by such forward-looking statements. Numerous risks, uncertainties and other factors may cause actual results to differ materially from those set out in the forward-looking statements, including potential issues with the Luminar LiDAR or Mobileye Chauffeur technologies and the development of safe, eyes-off, hands-off driving with autonomous driving systems. For any forward-looking statements contained in this or any other document, we claim the protection of the safe harbor for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, and we assume no obligation to update publicly or revise any such statements in light of new information or future events, except as required by law.


Polestar 4 To Integrate Luminar LiDAR with Mobileye Chauffeur

Luminar's Iris Integrated Vehicle

Luminar Technologies, Inc. (“Luminar” or “the Company”) (Nasdaq: LAZR), the global leader in automotive lidar hardware and software technology, today announced that two industry leaders have joined as executives: Alan Prescott as Chief Legal Officer, and Trey Campbell as Vice President of Investor Relations.

Alan Prescott is an automotive and autonomous industry legal expert, engineer, and 20-year veteran from top OEM and technology companies. He will be responsible for directing all legal operations as Luminar’s Chief Legal Officer. Alan joins Luminar from Tesla, where he spent four years acting most recently as General Counsel. Prior to Tesla, he led Uber’s Advanced Technology Group’s legal team as senior counsel overseeing commercial, regulatory, litigation, privacy, and cybersecurity. Alan’s career began at Ford Motor Company as a safety engineer before receiving his law degree from Georgetown University, after which he spent over 10 years leading various legal operations within the automaker, concentrating on product development and manufacturing, as well as several years as Special Counsel to the General Counsel.

“Alan is an outstanding addition to our executive team with an impressive track-record and deep experience leading and directing legal functions at a range of companies in our industry,” said Austin Russell, Founder and CEO of Luminar. “He understands the challenges and nuances of operating in both the autonomous driving space and in the automotive industry more broadly, and we look forward to his insights and expertise as we continue to scale our business and accelerate the expansion of our product and commercial roadmaps.”

Trey Campbell will lead Luminar’s Investor Relations functions, acting as the primary liaison with Luminar shareholders and the financial community. Prior to joining Luminar, Trey was a 20-year veteran and financial executive of Intel Corporation. He began his career at Intel as a financial analyst in the Technology and Manufacturing group, later transitioning into Intel’s Business Groups, Corporate Strategy, Information Technology, Sales and Marketing, and has since served as Vice President of Investor Relations. During his tenure at Intel, Trey gained comprehensive expertise and fluency in managing corporate finance for existing and emerging technologies. Trey received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas and his MBA from the University of Illinois.

“Trey’s background in leading and growing an investor relations practice at a publicly traded global technology corporation will be invaluable to Luminar as we continue to execute on our near- and long-term initiatives to fulfill our vision,” said Tom Fennimore, Chief Financial Officer at Luminar. “Trey’s strong leadership and communication experience as well as long-standing relationships with the financial community will help tremendously as we spearhead the industry, creating shareholder value and taking Luminar to the next level.”


Luminar is an autonomous vehicle sensor and software company with the vision to make autonomy safe and ubiquitous by delivering the only lidar and associated software that meets the industry’s stringent performance, safety, and economic requirements. Luminar has rapidly gained over 50 industry partners, including 8 of the top 10 global automotive OEMs. In 2020, Luminar signed the industry’s first production deal for autonomous consumer vehicles with Volvo Cars, while also recently striking deals with Daimler Truck AG and Intel’s Mobileye. Luminar has also received minority investments from the world’s largest commercial vehicle manufacturer, Daimler Truck AG, and Volvo Cars, a global leader in automotive safety, to accelerate the introduction of autonomous trucks and cars at highway speed. Founded in 2012, Luminar is a nearly 400-person team with offices in Palo Alto, Orlando, Colorado Springs, Detroit, and Munich. For more information please visit www.luminartech.com.


Certain statements included in this press release that are not historical facts may be deemed to be forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements generally are accompanied by words such as “believe,” “may,” “will,” “estimate,” “continue,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “expect,” “should,” “would,” “plan,” “predict,” “potential,” “seem,” “seek,” “future,” “outlook,” and similar expressions that predict or indicate future events or trends or that are not statements of historical matters. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements in the quotations above regarding scaling the business of Luminar, accelerating expansion of its product and commercial roadmaps, and shareholder value creation. These statements are based on various assumptions, whether or not identified in this press release, and on the current expectations of Luminar’s management and are not predictions of actual performance. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements, including but not limited to Luminar’s limited operating history; Luminar’s inability to reduce and control the cost of the inputs on which Luminar relies; Luminar’s ability to transition to an outsourced manufacturing business model; the success of Luminar’s customers in developing and commercializing products using Luminar’s solutions; Luminar’s ability to protect its intellectual property rights; whether Luminar’s lidar products are selected for inclusion in autonomous driving or ADAS systems by automotive OEMs or their suppliers; changes in personnel and availability of qualified personnel; the amount and timing of future sales; whether the complexity of Luminar’s products results in undetected defects and reliability issues which could reduce market adoption of its new products, damage its reputation and expose Luminar to product liability and other claims; strict government regulation that is subject to amendment, repeal or new interpretation and Luminar’s ability to comply with modified or new laws and regulations applying to its business; general economic uncertainty and the effect of general economic conditions on Luminar’s industry in particular, including the level of demand and financial performance of the autonomous vehicle industry and market adoption of lidar; the effects of the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic or other infectious diseases, health epidemics, pandemics and natural disasters on Luminar’s business; and the other risks discussed under “Item 1A. Risk Factors” in the annual report on Form 10-K filed by Luminar on April [15], 2021 and other documents Luminar files with the SEC in the future. If any of these risks materialize or our assumptions prove incorrect, actual results could differ materially from the results implied by these forward-looking statements. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance upon any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made and Luminar undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this press release.

Media
Nicole Phelan
press@luminartech.com

Investors
Trey Campbell
trey.campbell@luminartech.com

Tesla and Intel Industry Executives Join Luminar

Unveiling new Iris+ sensor; 300 meter ranging facility; Seagate lidar acquisition to accelerate next-gen

New automated, high-volume Mexico manufacturing facility ahead of guidance

Luminar now planned into over 20 production vehicle models across automakers; expecting at least triple-digit revenue growth every year for the next five years

Announcing Luminar AI Engine and exclusive partnership with Scale.ai

Announcing new commercial deals with Swiss Re and Pony.ai

Established Luminar Semiconductor from combination of semi subsidiaries


Luminar (NASDAQ: LAZR), a leading global automotive technology company, is hosting Luminar Day at its headquarters and via live webcast at 

. The company is announcing a flurry of news, which includes the reveal of its new Iris+ sensor and associated software, which Mercedes-Benz is integrating into its next generation vehicle lineup. Luminar is also unveiling its product roadmap, several new exclusive commercial agreements, the acquisition of Seagate’s lidar-related assets, Luminar Semiconductor subsidiary, and a new insurance initiative in partnership with Swiss Re to reduce insurance cost for vehicles equipped with Luminar.

“We made a big bet early on, and today it’s more clear than ever the industry has aligned to our products and roadmap for enhancing (not replacing) drivers with next-generation safety and autonomy. As of today, Luminar is now planned into over twenty production vehicle models from automakers,” said Austin Russell, Founder and CEO. “At Luminar Day, both our executives and valued partners are all here to show that we’re not only leading in this new era, but also successfully executing our plans across hardware, software, industrialization, commercial partnerships, and beyond.”

Below is a summary of Luminar Day announcements. Tune in to hear from the CEOs at Volvo Cars, Daimler Truck, Polestar, Swiss Re, Pony.ai, Scale.ai, and eCARX, as well as executives from Mercedes-Benz and NVIDIA on the partnership and vision. To view the livestream now in progress, go to: 

Unveiling New Iris+ Sensor; 300 Meter Ranging Facility; Advancing Next Gen Lidar Roadmap


Luminar is revealing a new Iris+ sensor, which adds to its current product portfolio for new and existing customers. Iris+ furthers the mission for enhanced vehicle safety and autonomous capabilities by enabling even greater performance and collision avoidance of small objects at up to autobahn-level speeds. It also features an even slimmer profile for seamless integration into the roofline of production vehicle models. The new product demonstrates Luminar’s engineering velocity is accelerating. Iris+ has already begun shipping to its lead customer, and is currently being industrialized to support series production vehicle launches beginning 2025 and beyond. To support the vast global scale of upcoming vehicle launches with Iris+, Luminar plans to bring online an additional manufacturing facility in Asia with a local partner.

Today, Iris+ is being demonstrated live at Luminar’s new long-range test and validation facility, which Luminar believes is the largest ranging and validation facility on the planet at over 300 meters long. The indoor, controlled facility was built for the highest automotive test and validation requirements of automotive OEMs for series production and engineered for Luminar’s leading lidar resolution-at-range capability.

In January, Luminar acquired Seagate’s lidar program in order to accelerate its future lidar development efforts, beyond Iris+. Seagate is the leading global provider of data storage solutions, with relevant experience in engineering, costing-down, and manufacturing tens of millions of hard drives annually. Luminar acquired lidar-related IP, assets, and welcomed a technical team who will further strengthen its next gen lidar development, automated manufacturing processes, and cost-down initiatives. The transaction is another example of Luminar executing on its opportunistic M&A strategy, and did not have a material impact to the company’s balance sheet.

New Automated, High-Volume Manufacturing Facility in Mexico Ahead of Guidance


Luminar is successfully executing its industrialization plan in conjunction with its automaker partners. Its initial lower-volume facility reached the start of production late last year, and now the company is focused on the next phase of industrialization: increasing automation and expanding capacity to support the large-scale global vehicle launches ahead.

Today, Luminar is announcing that its new dedicated, highly-automated, high volume manufacturing facility in Mexico is now expected to initially come online in Q2’23, ahead of the prior second-half guidance. The new facility is then scheduled to complete a rigorous validation process throughout 2H‘23 to meet automakers’ standards and requirements for large-scale, global vehicle launches. This new facility is being built in conjunction with Luminar’s contract manufacturing partner, Celestica. Luminar is also expanding to a dedicated, highly automated facility with its contract manufacturing partner Fabrinet in Thailand for the optical sub-assembly.

Luminar AI Engine and Exclusive Scale.ai Partnership: Unleashing the Potential of Luminar’s 3D Lidar Data


Because data is key to unleashing the next generation safety and autonomy capabilities of Luminar sensors, the company invested in software development early on.

Since 2017, Luminar has been quietly developing AI capabilities on its 3D lidar data to further the performance and functionality of next-generation safety and autonomy on vehicles. Today at Luminar Day, the company is showcasing its machine-learning based Luminar AI Engine enabling greater accuracy and precision of detecting objects, vehicles, pedestrians, and beyond. Luminar expects more than a million Luminar-equipped vehicles on the road over the next few years capturing 3D data, which has the opportunity to fuel its AI engine with the most comprehensive, accurate, and up-to-date 3D dataset in the industry. This captured lidar data can also be used for Luminar’s HD Mapping in constructing a 3D model of the driveable world.

Scale.ai, the leader in data infrastructure for artificial intelligence applications, and Luminar are partnering to supercharge the Luminar AI Engine. Scale’s technology will now be available exclusively to Luminar and no longer accessible to other providers of lidar. Scale also will be Luminar’s exclusive provider of data labeling and AI tools. Alexandr Wang, Founder and CEO of Scale, will speak to the partnership on stage with Austin Russell at Luminar Day on today’s livestream.

New Commercial Agreement with Pony.ai  


Building on the recent new wins across vehicle lineups from 

, today Luminar announced a new commercial agreement involving Luminar hardware and software with Pony.ai.

 a leading global autonomous driving technology company, is now partnering with Luminar for its next-generation commercial trucking and robotaxi platforms, which are targeted for series production by 2025. In addition, 

 is pleased to partner with Luminar to further improve the performance and accuracy of Luminar’s AI engine. Dr. James Peng, co-founder and CEO of 

 will speak to the partnership on the Luminar Day livestream.

Announcing Luminar Insurance Program and Exclusive Swiss Re Partnership


Substantial reductions in collisions from Luminar-equipped vehicles not only has the opportunity to save lives, but will also naturally drive down the cost of insurance. To capitalize on this and further accelerate widespread adoption and ultimately standardization of Luminar lidar, the company is launching its own insurance program. Today, 

, one of the world’s leading providers of reinsurance, announced a new exclusive partnership to advance this opportunity and quantify the on-road safety improvements of Luminar-equipped cars and the corresponding impact on insurance.

Establishing Luminar Semiconductor: Combining Three Advanced Semiconductor Subsidiaries


At Luminar Day, the company also announced the combination of its chip design subsidiaries Black Forest Engineering, Optogration, and Freedom Photonics into a new unified entity, Luminar Semiconductor. Mike McAuliffe has joined as President of Luminar Semiconductor. Mike previously served as CEO of several advanced semiconductor and sensing companies, including Seeing Machines, a publicly-traded automotive semiconductor technology company.

Luminar’s strategy to bring these advanced receiver, laser and processing chip technologies in-house has enabled its unmatched lidar performance while further securing and industrializing the lidar supply chain. The company is leveraging this investment in its high-performance, specialized semiconductors beyond lidar, and Luminar Semiconductor is already powering applications for customers across a broad range of sectors from communications to medical to aerospace.

Luminar Day begins at 1:30pmET/10:30amPT with a presentation by Austin Russell. Throughout the event, company executives and third-party industry leaders will discuss Luminar’s vision, execution and the industry’s shift towards next-generation safety and autonomy. Luminar partners featured during today’s event include: Jim Rowan, CEO of Volvo Cars; Markus Schäfer, Board of Management of Mercedes-Benz Group AG and Chief Technology Officer for Development & Procurement; David Liu, Founder and CEO of Plus; James Peng, Founder and CEO of Pony.ai; Martin Daum, CEO of Daimler Truck; Dieter Zetsche, advisor to Luminar and former Daimler Chairman; Alexandr Wang, Founder and CEO of Scale; Ziyu Shen, Co-founder and CEO of eCARX; and Russell Higginbotham, CEO of Swiss Re Corporate Solutions.

The company will report Q4’22 and full-year ‘22 results and provide a business outlook promptly after market closes today.

Luminar is a global automotive technology company ushering in a new era of vehicle safety and autonomy. For the past decade, Luminar has built an advanced hardware and software platform to enable its more than 50 industry partners, including the majority of global automotive OEMs. From Volvo Cars and Mercedes-Benz for consumer vehicles and Daimler Trucks for commercial trucks, to tech partners NVIDIA and Intel’s Mobileye, Luminar is poised to be the first automotive technology company to enable next-generation safety and autonomous capabilities for production vehicles. For more information please visit www.luminartech.com.

Media Relations:
Press@luminartech.com

Investor Relations:
Trey Campbell
investors@luminartech.com

Certain statements included in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements generally are accompanied by words such as “aims”, “believe,” “may,” “will,” “estimate,” “set,” “continue,” “towards,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “expect,” “should,” “would,” “forward,” and similar expressions that predict or indicate future events or trends or that are not statements of historical matters. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding expected achievement and timing of manufacturing scale up and new facilities; future Luminar product integration and timing by OEMs and through exclusive partnerships described herein; acceleration of Luminar’s technology development efforts; potential cost-savings opportunities and value of Luminar’s insurance initiatives; future successful development and utilization of Luminar’s AI engine as part of vehicle driving software and insurance; and expansion of semiconductor business into adjacent markets. These statements are based on various assumptions, whether or not identified in this press release, and on the current expectations of Luminar’s management and are not predictions of actual performance. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including the risks discussed in the “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” of Luminar’s most recently filed periodic reports on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q and other documents Luminar files periodically with the SEC in the future, including hardware, software, and supply chain readiness; positive market reception; changes in market conditions; or other risks, that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance upon any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made and Luminar undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this press release.

Luminar Day: Unveiling New Tech, Exclusive Partnerships, Roadmap

PLANO, TX — The Toyota Research Institute (TRI) today unveiled its newest autonomous test vehicle, Platform 2.1, featuring Luminar’s sensing technology.

“We moved swiftly and early to adopt the Luminar platform into our fleet, and as a result we’re rapidly advancing our program,” said James Kuffner, Chief Technology Officer, Toyota Research Institute. “The level of data fidelity and range is unlike anything we’ve seen and is essential to be able to develop and deliver the most advanced automated driving systems.”

Since coming out of stealth last April, Luminar has scaled up its partnerships with a select few companies – TRI being the first to deeply integrate the new sensing platform.

“We’re proud to enable the most advanced and rapidly evolving autonomous vehicle programs,” said Luminar Founder and CEO, Austin Russell. “As the group defining the future of vehicle autonomy for the largest auto manufacturer in the world, TRI has the greatest opportunity to lead the charge in deploying life-saving self-driving technology at scale. By equipping vehicles with the best quality 3D data, better-than-human perception can finally become a reality – charting the fastest, safest course for full autonomy.”

Luminar’s LiDAR delivers more than an order of magnitude greater resolution than current sensors and the ability to see dark objects, such as a tire (10% reflectivity) at over 200 meters, compared to less than 40 meters. The sensor is also the first to allow resolution to be concentrated where it’s needed most, in real time, enabling the car to clearly see and recognize cars, people, and objects, even at distance.

Five years ago, Luminar was founded and began development of a new LiDAR architecture, becoming the only platform to achieve the necessary sensor requirements to ultimately deliver safer-than-human autonomous vehicles. To get there, Luminar took a new approach by building all major components in its system from the ground up: lasers, receivers, scanning mechanisms and processing electronics. The radical architecture requires only a single laser, single receiver, and ultra-fast scanner to collect millions of points of information in the environment from just a fraction of the components used in today’s LiDAR systems.


Toyota Research Institute is a wholly owned subsidiary of Toyota Motor North America under the direction of Dr. Gill Pratt. The company, established in 2015, aims to strengthen Toyota’s research structure and has four initial mandates: 1) enhance the safety of automobiles, 2)increase access to cars to those who otherwise cannot drive, 3) translate Toyota’s expertise in creating products for outdoor mobility into products for indoor mobility, and 4) accelerate scientific discovery by applying techniques from artificial intelligence and machine learning. TRI is based in the United States, with offices in Los Altos, Calif., Cambridge, Mass., and Ann Arbor, Mich. For more information about TRI, please visit www.tri.global.


In April 2017, Luminar came out of stealth after five years in development to debut a new sensing technology that is poised to become the core platform to enable safe, fully autonomous vehicles. To date, the company has raised $36M in funding from Canvas Ventures, GVA Capital and 1517 Fund, has built a team of over 250 people across three offices, including a 70,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Orlando where it will begin and a 10,000-unit run this year. Luminar has partnered with four of the top programs and is in the midst of supplying them with our current iteration of technology, which is now being tested on public roads. For more information please go to https://www.luminartech.com/.

Toyota Research Institute Partners with Luminar on Autonomous Vehicle Tech

 Luminar (Nasdaq: LAZR), a leading global automotive technology company, today announced it will provide its quarterly business update and report financials for the third quarter of 2022 following the close of the market on Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2022. 

Founder and CEO Austin Russell and CFO Tom Fennimore will host a video webcast that day at 2:00 p.m. PDT (5:00 p.m. EDT) to discuss business and financial results followed by a live Q&A session.

Starting on Wednesday, Oct. 26 at 1:00 p.m. PDT / 4:00 p.m. EDT, verified shareholders can submit and upvote questions by visiting: 

https://app.saytechnologies.com/luminar-2022-q3

. This Q&A platform will remain open until 1:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Nov. 1. A selection of submitted questions will be answered during the earnings call.

 webcast featuring third-quarter 2022 financials, business update and live Q&A

 The webcast will be available live on Luminar’s Investor site at 

. A replay of the webcast will be available following the presentation.

For additional information or to be added to our investor distribution list, please visit us at 

https://investors.luminartech.com/ir-resources/email-alerts

Luminar is a global automotive technology company ushering in a new era of vehicle safety and autonomy. For the past decade, Luminar has built an advanced hardware and software platform to enable its more than 50 industry partners, including the majority of global automotive OEMs. From Volvo Cars and Mercedes-Benz for consumer vehicles and Daimler Trucks for commercial trucks, to tech partners NVIDIA and Intel’s Mobileye, Luminar is poised to be the first automotive technology company to enable next-generation safety and autonomous capabilities for production vehicles. For more information please visit 

Luminar to Provide Quarterly Business Update on November 2, 2022

In this letter to shareholders, Luminar CFO Tom Fennimore underscores:

Luminar has established itself as the clear leader in the industry; in 2023 this leadership position has widened with expanded wins, now totaling 20+ vehicle lines.

This success has been met with increased noise, but has no effect on the fundamental value of Luminar. We have more conviction than ever in our near and long-term value creation opportunity.

Questions were raised this week about our pricing forecast. Our ASP’s are not theoretical and are supported by our awarded contracts that span the decade. There is additional upside to further grow revenue per vehicle with our software and insurance solutions.

Dear Shareholders,

Luminar is off to a very strong start in 2023, but the volatility of our share price is increasingly disconnected from our execution and longer-term growth potential. I’m writing to factually address some of the recent misconceptions in the market that are driving part of this disconnect.

To recap a few of the events that unfolded this year:

In February, we announced significant multi-billion dollar deal expansions, including two of our core customers: Polestar and Mercedes-Benz. We ended February with a successful Luminar Day with strong in-person and virtual attendance and overwhelmingly positive feedback.

Our share price rallied as the market recognized our technology leadership, the achievements of our team and our bright, credible future. This rally continued until the overall market stalled with the Silicon Valley Bank collapse. Thankfully, Luminar has been largely immune to this and its ripple effects as we have taken proactive steps to protect our large cash position.

In the wake of our strong momentum, you’ve probably noticed other lidar companies stepping up their public attacks on us. We expect this spread of misinformation to continue as our success grows and their struggles accelerate (google “crab mentality” to better understand why). We don’t pay attention to this “FUD” (fear, uncertainty and doubt) and would encourage you to do the same if you aren’t already.

While we normally do not publicly respond to other misconceptions in the market, we have received enough inquiries where I feel the need to address two events in more detail.

First, as part of our Luminar Day, a member of our team included a thumbnail of a generic graphic of a photonic integrated circuit on a single slide in a 165 page presentation. This thumbnail was there to give a visual illustration of a generic photonic integrated circuit in our semiconductor section of the presentation. A startup company that Luminar has never heard of contacted the media claiming that we were improperly passing off their tech as ours. This is clearly not the case. For the avoidance of doubt, we replaced the thumbnail with an actual microscopic photo of one of our integrated circuits. Let me be clear — all of our key semiconductor intellectual property at Luminar is home grown and owned by us.

Second, earlier this week, a research analyst downgraded LAZR from “Neutral” to “Sell”. This downgrade took us by surprise as the same analyst had published a note a couple weeks prior reiterating both his Neutral rating and price target. Every analyst is entitled to his or her views, but there did not appear to be a credible Luminar-specific catalyst for the downgrade.

While the catalyst remains unclear, the explanation in the report for the downgrade was two-fold: (1) expected ASP/margin downside from our pricing being “50% to 100% higher than key competitors” and (2) a valuation premium versus other lidar companies (two of which the analyst covers and rates as Buys).

The concern over expected ASP/margin pressure ignores a critical point: our customers (and consumers) are willing to pay a premium for superior technology, especially life-saving technology. Our contractual agreements we have in place today for our 20+ awarded vehicle lines include “premium pricing” not only at the time of start of production, but over the life of the program. “Premium pricing” isn’t a theoretical concept we are forecasting, but an achievement we have already made in our major customer contracts. Additionally, there is upside to grow our revenue per vehicle with our software and insurance solutions.

Regarding the concern about our premium valuation, we believe using 2025 revenue as a valuation benchmark versus peers dramatically undervalues Luminar, as many of the 20+ vehicle lines we have been awarded are not expected to reach production until beyond 2025. We expect the superior performance enabled by our technology will not only continue to drive accelerated bookings and exponential revenue growth in the near-term, resulting in a deserved premium multiple for Luminar, but also will drive better longer-term growth versus other companies.

I would like to end this note by assuring all of our shareholders that the Luminar Team is 100% focused on executing and achieving our 2023 milestones as well as our longer-term vision to save lives and power autonomy. We have the awarded business today, the cash on our balance sheet, and a world-class team in place to execute on our vision and create significant shareholder value.

We appreciate all of your patience, support and faith in us as we execute.

Regards,
Tom and the rest of the Luminar Team


Certain statements included in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements generally are accompanied by words such as “aims,” “believe,” “may,” “will,” “estimate,” “set,” “continue,” “towards,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “expect,” “should,” “would,” “forward,” and similar expressions that predict or indicate future events or trends or that are not statements of historical matters. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the likelihood that customers are willing to pay a premium for our safety technology and that we will generate revenue from software and other solutions. These statements are based on various assumptions, whether or not identified in this press release, and on the current expectations of Luminar’s management and are not guarantees of actual performance. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements, including the risks discussed in the “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” sections of Luminar’s most recently filed periodic reports on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q, and other documents Luminar files with the SEC in the future. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance upon any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made, and Luminar undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this press release.

Addressing Misconceptions with Facts

 laying out a new era for safety for the brand ahead of the upcoming November 9th reveal of the new Volvo EX90 with Luminar lidar as standard. The debut will mark Luminar’s first global launch of its technology on a passenger vehicle – a major milestone for the company that is the culmination of a multi-year extensive collaboration for next-gen safety and autonomy in series production cars.

Head of Safe Vehicle Automation at Volvo Cars

For nearly 100 years Volvo Cars has been a leader in the industry in safety, and this legacy is reaching its next era. Volvo’s standard safety on the Volvo EX90 will be far beyond those of any Volvo before it. For the first time, a global production vehicle will seamlessly integrate a long-range, automotive grade lidar to enable one of the safest and smartest passenger cars on the road.

“The world will look back on this moment in the same way as Volvo’s introduction of the modern seat belt – catapulting the industry forward in vehicle safety.” – Austin Russell, Luminar Founder and CEO.

Pioneering new, advanced safety technology is one thing, but democratizing and standardizing it to make it available on as many passenger cars as possible is an additional challenge in its own right. Luminar began working with Volvo Cars in 2016. By 2020, a deal to integrate Luminar’s series production technology, Iris into next generation Volvos was inked. Last year, Volvo Cars moved to make Luminar’s technology standard on its upcoming Volvo EX90, to be revealed this November.

The brands are united in their mission: eliminate vehicle accidents. A key enabling technology is what Luminar delivers: the highest-performance sensing platform delivering unmatched perception performance and safety.

Read more from Volvo Cars CEO, Jim Rowan 

; and from Joachim de Verdier, Volvo’s head of safe vehicle automation 

Luminar and Volvo Cars Are Ushering in the Next Generation of Vehicle Safety

Luminar (Nasdaq: LAZR), a leading global automotive technology company, today announced it will provide its quarterly business update and financials for the third quarter of 2023 following the close of the market on Wednesday, November 8, 2023. Luminar will pilot a new format in this update, simultaneously releasing a shareholder letter and press release in place of prepared remarks on the call. This will leave the majority of the call time open for Q&A from analysts, institutional investors, and retail investors on the SAY platform. The shareholder letter will detail the status of Luminar’s business milestones; LiDAR, semiconductor, and AI products and developments; and the company’s financials and outlook.

In addition to the new quarterly format, Luminar is now leveraging its corporate communications channel to provide regular updates and commentary on major business milestones and developments. To be added to the Investor Relations email distribution list, please sign up at 

. All associated emails will be concurrently published and archived on the Luminar IR website.

For the quarterly business update, institutional shareholders can submit questions to be addressed on the call by emailing 

. Starting on Monday, October 30 at 1:00 p.m. PDT (4:00 p.m. EDT), verified retail shareholders can submit and upvote questions by visiting 

https://app.saytechnologies.com/luminar-2023-q3

. Both means of submitting questions will remain open through the duration of the webcast on Wednesday, November 8, 2023, and a broader selection of submitted questions will be answered during the business update call. On that day, at 1:00 p.m. PDT (4:00 p.m. EDT), the company will issue a press release and the shareholder letter. At 2:00 p.m. PDT (5:00 p.m. EDT), Luminar Founder and CEO Austin Russell and CFO Tom Fennimore will host a webcast primarily consisting of a live Q&A session.


 Webcast featuring third quarter 2023 financials, business update and live Q&A

https://www.luminartech.com/quarterlyreview.

 A replay of the webcast will be available following the presentation.



Luminar is a global automotive technology company ushering in a new era of vehicle safety and autonomy. For the past decade, Luminar has built an advanced hardware and software/AI platform to enable its more than 50 industry partners, including the majority of global automotive OEMs. From consumer vehicle programs with Volvo Cars and Mercedes-Benz to technology partnerships including NVIDIA and Mobileye, Luminar is poised to be the first automotive technology company to enable next-generation safety and autonomous capabilities for global production vehicles. For more information please visit www.luminartech.com.



Luminar To Pilot New Update Formats; Next Quarterly Review on Nov 8th

 Luminar (Nasdaq: LAZR), a leading global automotive technology company, today announced it will provide its quarterly business update and report financials for the first quarter of 2023 following the close of the market on Tuesday, May 9, 2023.

“We have more conviction than ever in our milestones, strong outlook and planned revenue opportunity per vehicle, which is not just theoretical but supported by our contracts that span the decade. We will outline this in further detail at our upcoming earnings call,” said Austin Russell, Founder and CEO of Luminar. “2023 is a year of intensive focus on execution, including bringing the high volume factory online with our partners, advancing our technology with Iris+, software and beyond, and growing our forward-looking order book by at least one billion dollars."

Russell and CFO Tom Fennimore will host a video webcast that day at 2:00 p.m. PDT (5:00 p.m. EDT) to discuss business and financial results followed by a live Q&A session.

Starting on Monday, May 1 at 1:00 p.m. PDT / 4:00 p.m. EDT, verified shareholders can submit and upvote questions by visiting: 

https://app.saytechnologies.com/luminar-2023-q1

. This Q&A platform will remain open until 1:00 p.m. ET on Monday, May 8. A selection of submitted questions will be answered during the earnings call.


: Webcast featuring first-quarter 2023 financials, business update and live Q&A

: The webcast will be available live on Luminar's Investor site at 

https://www.luminartech.com/quarterlyreview

. A replay of the webcast will be available following the presentation. 


For additional information or to be added to our investor distribution list, please visit us at 


Certain statements included in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements generally are accompanied by words such as “aims,” “believe,” “may,” “will,” “estimate,” “set,” “continue,” “towards,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “expect,” “should,” “would,” “forward,” and similar expressions that predict or indicate future events or trends or that are not statements of historical matters. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the likelihood of reaching high-volume production, developing and launching new hardware and software, and achieving new commercial deals. These statements are based on various assumptions, whether or not identified in this press release, and on the current expectations of Luminar’s management and are not guarantees of actual performance. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements, including the risks discussed in the “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” sections of Luminar’s most recently filed periodic reports on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q, and other documents Luminar files with the SEC in the future. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance upon any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made, and Luminar undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this press release.




Luminar is a global automotive technology company ushering in a new era of vehicle safety and autonomy. For the past decade, Luminar has built an advanced hardware and software platform to enable its more than 50 industry partners, including the majority of global automotive OEMs. From Volvo Cars and Mercedes-Benz for consumer vehicles and Daimler Trucks for commercial trucks, to tech partners NVIDIA and Intel’s Mobileye, Luminar is poised to be the first automotive technology company to enable next-generation safety and autonomous capabilities for production vehicles. For more information please visit 

Luminar to Announce Quarterly Business Update On May 9, 2023

Luminar Technologies, Inc. (“Luminar”) (Nasdaq: LAZR), the global leader in automotive lidar hardware and software technology, today announced it has partnered closely with Zenseact to deliver autonomous software for series production vehicles. Volvo Cars is the first launch customer, representing both Luminar’s and Zenseact’s first production design win for software. Zenseact is a newly-formed 550-person team of top ADAS and autonomous software experts having uniquely developed software products in series production today.

, is the first full-stack autonomous solution for series production in the industry. It deeply integrates Zenseact’s OnePilot autonomous driving software solution alongside Luminar’s Iris lidar, perception software, and other components as a foundation, enabling every automaker to offer Highway Autonomy and Proactive SafetyTM capabilities on their production vehicles. While the wider autonomous industry largely focuses on robo-taxi applications, Luminar and Zenseact collectively remain focused on delivering systems into series production vehicles.

Founder and CEO, Luminar

CEO of Zenseact

Zenseact is responsible for delivering its OnePilot software and Luminar’s perception software to Volvo Cars, while Luminar is responsible for providing the holistic Sentinel solution to other automakers.

Sentinel will equip global automakers with two core functionalities – Proactive SafetyTM and hands-off, eyes-off Highway Autonomy:

 For the first time, vehicles can proactively avoid collisions with evasive maneuvers, reducing accident rates by up to seven times. The most advanced camera-based ADAS systems today will attempt to reactively avoid collisions only in ideal conditions, in a straight line, and generally after the driver does not respond.

 Hands-free, eyes-free true autonomous driving on highways – as opposed to the most advanced ADAS systems today, which require constant driver attention and system overrides at a moment’s notice, defeating the main purpose of autonomy – to recover the driver’s time and substantially improve vehicle safety.

Sentinel is powered in part by Zenseact’s OnePilot software, which helps provide a single user experience throughout the user’s journey. OnePilot continuously assesses the surroundings to enable autonomous highway driving. OnePilot also provides the driver with useful information and warnings and may intervene by overriding controls to make sure the user has a safe journey.

Sentinel also incorporates over-the-air updates to expand the operating domain of autonomy and further improve safety of vehicles over time.


Luminar is an autonomous vehicle sensor and software company with the vision to make autonomy safe and ubiquitous by delivering the only lidar and associated software that meets the industry’s stringent performance, safety, and economic requirements. Luminar has rapidly gained over 50 industry partners, including 7 of the top 10 global automakers. Earlier this year, Luminar signed the industry’s first production deal for autonomous consumer vehicles with Volvo Cars, while also recently striking deals with Daimler Truck AG and Intel’s Mobileye. Luminar has also received minority investments from the world’s largest commercial vehicle manufacturer, Daimler Truck AG, and Volvo Cars, a global leader in automotive safety, to accelerate the introduction of autonomous trucks and cars at highway speed. Founded in 2012, Luminar is a nearly 400-person team with offices in Palo Alto, Orlando, Colorado Springs, Detroit, and Munich. For more information please visit www.luminartech.com.


Our purpose is to make safe and intelligent mobility real, for everyone, everywhere.

We develop the complete software stack for AD and ADAS, from sensing to actuation. Our focus is to build a cutting-edge software mobility platform in order to serve various levels of autonomy and offer unequaled scalability at the same time. Zenseact was founded by Volvo Cars in 2020, and we operate in Gothenburg, Sweden, and Shanghai, China. For more information, please visit www.zenseact.com.


Certain statements included in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements generally are accompanied by words such as “believe,” “may,” “will,” “estimate,” “continue,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “expect,” “should,” “would,” “plan,” “predict,” “potential,” “seem,” “seek,” “future,” “outlook,” and similar expressions that predict or indicate future events or trends or that are not statements of historical matters. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements relating to the partnership between Luminar and Zenseact, the delivery of autonomous software for series production vehicles and the capabilities of Sentinel. These statements are based on various assumptions, whether or not identified in this press release, and on the current expectations of Luminar’s management and are not predictions of actual performance. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements, including but not limited to Luminar’s limited operating history; Luminar’s inability to reduce and control the cost of the inputs on which Luminar relies; Luminar’s ability to transition to an outsourced manufacturing business model; the success of Luminar’s customers in developing and commercializing products using Luminar’s solutions; Luminar’s ability to protect its intellectual property rights; whether Luminar’s lidar products are selected for inclusion in autonomous driving or ADAS systems by automotive OEMs or their suppliers; changes in personnel and availability of qualified personnel; the amount and timing of future sales; whether the complexity of Luminar’s products results in undetected defects and reliability issues which could reduce market adoption of its new products, damage its reputation and expose Luminar to product liability and other claims; strict government regulation that is subject to amendment, repeal or new interpretation and Luminar’s ability to comply with modified or new laws and regulations applying to its business; general economic uncertainty and the effect of general economic conditions on Luminar’s industry in particular, including the level of demand and financial performance of the autonomous vehicle industry and market adoption of lidar; the effects of the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic or other infectious diseases, health epidemics, pandemics and natural disasters on Luminar’s business; and the other risks discussed under the heading “Risk Factors” in the registration statement on Form S-1/A filed by Luminar on January 29, 2021 and other documents Luminar files with the SEC in the future. If any of these risks materialize or our assumptions prove incorrect, actual results could differ materially from the results implied by these forward-looking statements. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance upon any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made and Luminar undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this press release.

Luminar Unveils Industry’s First Full-Stack Autonomous System for Series Production with Zenseact

New 4-seater Volvo variant, the EX90 Excellence, launches in Shanghai with Luminar as standard

Luminar signs deal with TPK for next high-volume factory to support existing and new contracts for rapidly growing business in Asia

TPK plans to invest in Luminar with purchase of LAZR stock
Luminar is expected to be equipped on millions of vehicles throughout Asia this decade from current contracts alone

Today at the Shanghai Auto Show, Luminar (Nasdaq: LAZR), a leading global automotive technology company, announced a partnership with TPK, a multi-billion dollar supplier to companies like Apple and Tesla, to build and operate an additional high-volume factory driven by rapidly growing demand for Luminar in Asia. This follows Luminar’s April 13 announcement regarding the successful bring-up of a new high-volume factory in Mexico. Luminar has now established a global manufacturing footprint that spans the United States, Mexico, Thailand, and China. The company is also celebrating the unveiling of 

, which will come with Luminar LiDAR as standard for next-generation safety and autonomous capabilities.

“Volvo has seen first hand our strong execution and industrialization with the new Mexico factory, and is continuing to double down on Luminar - this time by standardizing us on the new Volvo EX90 Excellence model in the China market,” said Austin Russell, Founder and CEO of Luminar. “At the same time, Luminar is doubling down on Asia with our new TPK partnership for a new dedicated high volume factory in order to meet the exponentially growing demand for our products in the region.”


TPK has a strong track record of execution for producing innovative high-performance and automotive-grade technology at scale, from manufacturing the first smartphone multi-touch display that helped enable the mobile device revolution all the way to developing the first large-format center screen in the automotive industry for consumer production vehicles.

Industrialization to manufacture LiDAR in multi-million quantities is a formidable challenge, but TPK’s automated manufacturing capabilities and plans for Luminar stood out as the most elegant and efficient solution to a complex problem. At the first stage, the new factory will be capable of producing up to 600,000 Luminar LiDAR sensors annually to support awarded programs from automakers including Mercedes-Benz. The factory has the ability to further expand capacity as demand ramps beyond these levels. In consideration of Luminar’s leading technology and economic trajectory, TPK also plans to purchase Luminar stock to reflect TPK's belief in Luminar's potential.

Leo Hsieh, President and CEO of TPK said, “We are truly appreciative and pleased with this opportunity to work with Luminar, a world leader in autonomous driving technology. This partnership demonstrates again TPK’s strong engineering and automation capabilities for mass production, in collaboration with various leading technology providers to introduce cutting-edge products to market efficiently and at speed.”

Here at the Shanghai Auto Show, it is clearer than ever that China has strong demand for LiDAR to enable next-generation safety and autonomy. It is estimated that roughly half of the 20 million vehicles sold in China last year were from foreign-branded automakers, many of which are Luminar partners. Of the now more than 20 production vehicle models Luminar is designed into, the majority are also slated for the China market. For example, yesterday in Shanghai, Volvo Cars unveiled the Volvo EX90 Excellence, the new top edition of the all-electric SUV. The Volvo EX90 Excellence features Luminar lidar as standard on every car with the Iris lidar seamlessly integrated into the roofline, marking a pivotal moment for the future of safety as well as assisted and autonomous driving in the automotive industry.

“We have designed the EX90 to be the safest Volvo car to ever hit the road,” says Javier Varela, Deputy CEO and Chief Operating Officer at Volvo Cars. “To understand the outside environment, we are proud to equip the EX90 with cameras, radars and leading Luminar lidar technology to see the road in daylight or darkness at highway speeds.”

About Luminar
Luminar is a global automotive technology company ushering in a new era of vehicle safety and autonomy. For the past decade, Luminar has built an advanced hardware and software platform to enable its more than 50 industry partners, including the majority of global automotive OEMs. From Volvo Cars and Mercedes-Benz for consumer vehicles and Daimler Trucks for commercial trucks, to tech partners NVIDIA and Intel’s Mobileye, Luminar is poised to be the first automotive technology company to enable next-generation safety and autonomous capabilities for production vehicles. For more information please visit www.luminartech.com.

Forward Looking Statements:
Certain statements included in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements generally are accompanied by words such as “aims,” “believe,” “may,” “will,” “estimate,” “set,” “continue,” “towards,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “expect,” “should,” “would,” “forward,” and similar expressions that predict or indicate future events or trends or that are not statements of historical matters. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding expected factory production capability and future expansion opportunities, automaker vehicle launches, sales, and volume requirements, and successful performance of vehicle safety features. These statements are based on various assumptions, whether or not identified in this press release, and on the current expectations of Luminar's management and are not guarantees of actual performance. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements, including the risks discussed in the “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” sections of Luminar’s most recently filed periodic reports on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q, and other documents Luminar files with the SEC in the future. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance upon any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made, and Luminar undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this press release.

Luminar Expands in Asia with New Factory; Standardized on New Variant of the Volvo EX90

Luminar (Nasdaq: LAZR), a leading global automotive technology company, and Plus, a global provider of highly automated driving and fully autonomous driving solutions, announced a partnership to advance highly automated driving and safety systems for commercial vehicle manufacturers. Under the agreement, Luminar will be the exclusive provider of mid- to long-range lidar for PlusDrive, Plus’s factory-installed assisted driving system for commercial vehicles. In parallel, Plus will be the exclusive third-party provider of AI-based enhanced driver assist software for Luminar’s solution for commercial vehicle OEMs.


“Trucking is a key emerging market for Luminar, and the same products and technology we’ve successfully executed on for our production consumer vehicle programs are beginning to be deployed on commercial vehicles as well,” said Luminar Founder and CEO Austin Russell. “We see Plus as a new strategic partner for us to enable enhanced safety and autonomous capabilities for production commercial vehicles at even greater scale, in light of their commercial success with some of the largest companies in the industry.”


Luminar’s Iris lidar is a first-of-its kind, automotive grade sensing solution that enables high-performance, long-range detections. In addition to production consumer vehicles, Iris uniquely meets the stringent performance, robustness, and reliability requirements for class 8 commercial trucks. Ultra long-range visibility is critical for trucking for both safety and comfort, and Luminar’s lidar is capable of seeing as far as 600 meters ahead. This represents as much as 20 seconds of visibility ahead at highway speeds to ensure even fully-loaded trucks can smoothly come to a safe stop when required. This provides a step-function improvement for ADAS systems while enabling the necessary foundation for fully autonomous driving.


“The partnership between Luminar and Plus unlocks the tremendous business value of next-generation safety and highly automated driving systems for vehicle manufacturers and fleets alike. Luminar will enable PlusDrive to achieve new heights in sensing at further distances and at highway speeds. This will enable the scalable commercialization of driver-in technology today and accelerate our customers’ path to full autonomy tomorrow,” said David Liu, CEO and Co-Founder at Plus.


Plus’s driver-in, L2++ solution, PlusDrive, which enables supervised autonomy is already commercially available and used to deliver freight by some of the largest fleets in the world today. PlusDrive uses components such as lidar, radar, and cameras from award-winning manufacturers to see 360 degrees around the vehicle and hundreds of meters ahead. The AI-based software processes the data, predicts the behavior of surrounding vehicles, and then safely maneuvers the vehicle. It automatically handles stop-and-go traffic, lane changes, lane merges, nudging when next to an oversized vehicle, and staying centered in the lane while the driver remains alert and attentive. New driving features are continuously added via over-the-air software updates.


Plus and Luminar will also aim to collaborate on Luminar’s commercial vehicle insurance program, high definition mapping, and trucking sensor integration called Blade.


Plus is a global provider of highly automated driving and fully autonomous driving solutions with headquarters in Silicon Valley, California. Named by Forbes as one of America’s Best Startup Employers and by Fast Company as one of the World’s Most Innovative Companies, Plus’s open autonomy technology platform is already powering vehicles in commercial use today. Working with leading vehicle manufacturers, fleets, and other technology companies globally, Plus is helping to make driving safer, more comfortable, and more sustainable. Plus has received a number of industry awards and distinctions for its transformative technology and business momentum from Fast Company, Forbes, Insider, Consumer Electronics Show, AUVSI, and others.



Certain statements included in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements generally are accompanied by words such as “aims”, “believe,” “may,” “will,” “estimate,” “set,” “continue,” “towards,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “expect,” “should,” “would,” “forward,” and similar expressions that predict or indicate future events or trends or that are not statements of historical matters. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding our collaboration with Plus will lead to a solution that will be adopted by trucking companies, that Luminar’s lidar has sufficient performance trucking automated driving, and that PlusDrive software will result in safer commercial truck performance. These statements are based on various assumptions, whether or not identified in this press release, and on the current expectations of Luminar’s management and are not predictions of actual performance. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including that Luminar’s lidar, software of Luminar and Plus, and the integration will be successful, and changes in market conditions and consumer desirability for such products and government authorization to use them; or other risks, that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements including the risks discussed under the heading “Risk Factors” in the Annual Report on Form 10-K filed by Luminar on March 1, 2022, and other documents Luminar files periodically with the SEC. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance upon any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made and Luminar undertakes no obligation to update any forward looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this press release.




Luminar Investor Relations:
Aileen Smith


Luminar and Plus Partner for LiDAR and AI-Based Assisted Driving Software for Trucking

 Today at AutoMobility Los Angeles, Luminar and Volvo Cars revealed advancements in perception capabilities that are accelerating the development of its R&D efforts. Together the companies are working towards a shared vision of safe, driver-out-of-the-loop autonomy.

Volvo is the first of Luminar’s partners to fully develop this capability, and the Luminar team has worked closely with Volvo Cars R&D to create advanced perception technologies. In June, the companies announced its partnership along with an investment in Luminar from the recently formed Volvo Cars Tech Fund. Since then, Volvo Cars has introduced its vision for full autonomy with its 360c concept. The demonstration in Los Angeles gave a look into long-range perception capabilities on a live drive along Los Angeles highways and streets to show Volvo Cars long-range vision at highway speeds leveraging Luminar’s sensing platform.

Founder and CEO

Long-range perception is key to achieving Volvo Cars’ vision for 360c. Luminar’s high performance sensing platform finally delivers the range, resolution, and fidelity necessary to achieve safer-than-human understanding of core driving tasks and edge case scenarios. The fidelity enabled the Volvo Cars R&D team to achieve and demonstrate the first ever LiDAR-based pose estimation for autonomous driving. Pose estimation is used to understand and predict pedestrian body language, behavior and intention, but has traditionally only been achieved with dense 2D data from cameras. With LiDAR that achieves camera-like resolution in 3D, this is one of many perception & prediction challenges that can now be reliably solved at distances near and far.

Senior Vice President for Research and Development 


In April 2017, Luminar came out of stealth after five years in development to debut a new sensing technology that is poised to become the core platform to enable safe, fully autonomous vehicles. The company is funded by Canvas Ventures, GVA Capital and 1517 Fund, and has built a team of over 400 people across three offices, including a 125,000-square-foot manufacturing campus in Orlando. Luminar has partnered with sixteen of the top AV programs, including Volvo Cars and Toyota Research Institute. For more information: https://www.luminartech.com/.



Volvo has been in operation since 1927. Today, Volvo Cars is one of the most well-known and respected car brands in the world with sales of 571,577 cars in 2017 in about 100 countries. Volvo Cars has been under the ownership of the Zhejiang Geely Holding (Geely Holding) of China since 2010. It formed part of the Swedish Volvo Group until 1999, when the company was bought by Ford Motor Company of the US. In 2010, Volvo Cars was acquired by Geely
Holding.

In 2017, Volvo Cars employed on average approximately 38,000 (30,400) full-time employees. Volvo Cars head office, product development, marketing and administration functions are mainly located in Gothenburg, Sweden. Volvo Cars head office for China is located in Shanghai. The company’s main car production plants are located in Gothenburg (Sweden), Ghent (Belgium), Chengdu and Daqing (China), while engines are manufactured in Skövde (Sweden) and Zhangjiakou (China) and body components in Olofström (Sweden).

Luminar and Volvo Cars Offer a First Look into Path to Autonomy

)--Luminar (Nasdaq: LAZR), a leading global automotive technology company, today announced it will host Luminar Day on February 28, 2023 at its headquarters for investors, consumers, customers and suppliers. At the event, Luminar will unveil its long-term product and technology roadmap for existing and new OEM customers. The company also expects to detail its near-term and long-term financial plan among other news and updates, including its full-year 2022 financials.

At Luminar Day, company executives and third-party industry leaders will also discuss Luminar’s vision, execution and accelerating the industry’s shift towards next-generation safety and autonomy with Luminar. The event will feature live product demonstrations, facility tours and technology deep-dives. You can pre-register for the livestream of Luminar Day or join the in-person waitlist at: 

Additionally, at Luminar’s upcoming CES Press Conference set for 2:00 pm PT on January 4, Luminar will announce the status of its 4 key 2022 company-level milestones. With Luminar now in series production, the company will also reveal a new consumer-facing brand strategy, as well as provide a deeper dive into new Luminar technology to be showcased at CES. Press attending in person can RSVP to press@luminartech.com. Luminar will also live stream the press conference on the 

Investors can receive updates on Luminar Day, CES, and other news by registering for email updates: 

Information on Founder's Transfer of Holdings to Trust (GRAT)

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