Luminar

History

2024: Dismissal of 20% of employees

On May 3, 2024, Luminar Technologies, a manufacturer of lidars and other sensors for unmanned vehicles, announced a large-scale reorganization. The program provides for a reduction in the number of personnel by about 20%.

Luminar said in a statement that the company has reached a strong position in terms of technology and commercialization of products. On the other hand, in light of the current macroeconomic situation, the previous business model and cost structure no longer meet the needs. The restructuring is expected to allow Luminar to bring solutions to market faster, significantly reduce costs and improve financial performance. The layoffs are designed to "restructure" Luminar's organizational structure according to "top priorities and core competencies."

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Luminar Technologies

Many of the reduced specialists have been with us for many years, so this decision is given with great difficulty, - said Luminar CEO Austin Russell.

Luminar had about 800 full-time employees as of December 2023 - mostly in the United States, Germany, Sweden, India and China. The cuts will affect at least 147 people, it said. In addition, the company is switching to a more "light" business model, which provides for the transfer of the main production to outsourcing partners. Luminar will also reduce office space by subleasing some of its properties.

Luminar estimates that the costs associated with employee severance pay and other related procedures will range from $6 million to $8 million. Basically, these costs will fall on the second and third quarters of 2024. In the future, restructuring will ensure a decrease in operating expenses by $50- $65 million annually^[1]

2020: $3.4 billion valuation

On August 24, 2020, the developer of lidars for autonomous vehicles Luminar announced its entry into the Nasdaq exchange through a deal with Gores Metropoulos. As part of the agreements reached, Luminar will be taken over by dedicated targeted mergers and acquisitions company Gores Metropoulos. The new organization will be named Luminar Technologies and the stock ticker LAZR.

According to the terms, Gores Metropoulos will pay Luminar $400 million in cash. Another $170 million will be paid by a group of investors, which includes billionaire Peter Thiel, GoPro founder Nick Woodman, as well as Volvo Cars Tech Fund and VectoIQ funds.

As a result of this deal, Luminar is valued at $3.4 billion. Shortly before going public, Luminar raised $250 million and announced a partnership with Volvo, under which its technologies will be used in Volvo cars with autonomous control from 2022.

Luminar valued at $3.4 billion

The company currently has 350 employees and operates in Silicon Valley, its plant is located in Orlando. There are immediate plans to open an office in Detroit.

Lidar - a device for measuring the distance to objects using a laser, allows you to instantly form a 3D map of the area around the car. This integral detail is considered critical to the commercial deployment of self-propelled vehicles.

In addition, auto automakers have also begun to consider lidar as an auxiliary system that can be used to expand the capabilities of lift assistance systems and improve road safety in cars, trucks and SUVs.

This is an important event not only for us, but for the entire industry, "said Austin Russell, founder and CEO of Luminar. - About 8 years ago we did not have a technical solution that would allow to call the promising industry of self-propelled vehicles. We have created a business from scratch and today we are ready to show global brands what we are capable of.[2]

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