Portfolio
Luminar
Pioneering the future of autonomous transportation.
LAZR
Why We Invested
We first met Austin when he was 17 and living in a Hacker House in Portola Valley, and were immediately struck by his intelligence and conviction that most autonomous vehicle companies had overlooked LiDAR. Luminar provides safe autonomous transportation with long-range, high-res LiDAR with the goal of creating an uncrashable car. Luminar went public via SPAC in December 2020 (Nasdaq: LAZR).
AI
Austin Russell & Jason Eichenholz
Co-Founders
“Everyone in venture talks about backing bold and transformative technology. They really don’t do it. They just make incremental bets with short time horizons. Rebecca is different. From Day 1 she was a believer and she understood the technology and what was needed.”
Headquarters
Palo Alto, CA
Year founded
2012
Investment lead
Website
luminartech.com
In the news
LinkedIn
December 7, 2020
What it Took For a 17-Year-Old to Transform the Automotive Industry ... and Become the Youngest Self-Made Billionaire
LinkedIn
December 7, 2020
What it Took For a 17-Year-Old to Transform the Automotive Industry ... and Become the Youngest Self-Made Billionaire
Yahoo Finance
December 3, 2020
Luminar CEO: We're absolutely in this for the long run
Yahoo Finance
December 3, 2020
Luminar CEO: We're absolutely in this for the long run
CNBC
December 3, 2020
Luminar going public makes 25-year-old Austin Russell one of world's first, and youngest, self-driving billionaires
CNBC
December 3, 2020
Luminar going public makes 25-year-old Austin Russell one of world's first, and youngest, self-driving billionaires
Reuters
December 3, 2020
Luminar Technologies becomes public company as lidar race builds
Reuters
December 3, 2020
Luminar Technologies becomes public company as lidar race builds
Forbes
December 3, 2020
Meet The World's Newest And Youngest Self-Made Billionaire: Luminar's Austin Russell
Forbes
December 3, 2020
Meet The World's Newest And Youngest Self-Made Billionaire: Luminar's Austin Russell
YouTube
December 3, 2020
Real Autonomy Video from Luminar
YouTube
December 3, 2020
Real Autonomy Video from Luminar
Forbes
November 20, 2020
Luminar Inks Deal To Sell Laser Sensors To Intel's Mobileye Ahead Of Nasdaq Listing
Forbes
November 20, 2020
Luminar Inks Deal To Sell Laser Sensors To Intel's Mobileye Ahead Of Nasdaq Listing
BusinessWire
November 10, 2020
Luminar Increases Guidance; Accelerating Deals
BusinessWire
November 10, 2020
Luminar Increases Guidance; Accelerating Deals
TechCrunch
May 6, 2020
Volvo to use Luminar's lidar in production vehicles to unlock automated driving on highways
TechCrunch
May 6, 2020
Volvo to use Luminar's lidar in production vehicles to unlock automated driving on highways