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Luminar 

A Letter from CEO Paul Ricci

Luminar Collaborates with Caterpillar on Industrial Autonomous Solution

Luminar Technology Selected on New, Fully Electric Volvo ES90

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When I decided to join Luminar, I did so with conviction - conviction in the inevitability of autonomous vehicles, and conviction that this company has the technical foundation to lead the race. Much like my experience at Nuance, in the early days of conversational AI, I saw both the signs of an industry on the verge of transformation, and, more importantly, a company at a critical inflection point, poised to evolve from a technology-focused innovator into a mature, execution-focused business.

As an outsider, what drew me in was Luminar’s extraordinary depth in both LiDAR hardware and software. And today, after several weeks in this role, what I’ve found through conversations with customers, team members, suppliers, and partners has only strengthened that belief: the technology here is real, the talent is exceptional, and the opportunity is immense. I’ve also had the opportunity to meet directly with our key partners, including Volvo Cars, Mercedes, and Nissan, and while each relationship is at a different stage, the consistent thread is a shared recognition of the value our technology can unlock, and a willingness to explore what’s possible together. 

But I also joined Luminar because I believe I can make a real difference. Luminar has the technology necessary for success, but what it needs most right now is execution. I have spent my career leading companies through complex transitions, and I’m here to bring the discipline, focus, and financial rigor required to turn Luminar’s world-class technology into a sustainable, high-performing business.

For those unfamiliar with my background, I led Nuance through a strategic repositioning that ultimately delivered over $10 billion in shareholder value. I joined in the early days of conversational AI, and when the stock was trading at just $1. But with the support of a focused team, well-defined priorities, and a relentless commitment to execution, we scaled the company into a market leader in a rapidly emerging category. That’s what I plan to bring to Luminar.

I see many parallels between where Nuance was then, and where Luminar is now. Only at Luminar, the technical advantage is ours to lose. Our 1550nm LiDAR architecture is best-in-class, and we have already demonstrated the ability to industrialize and deploy our technology at scale. But the challenge isn’t just about proving the technology anymore - it’s about delivering what customers want, when they need it, and at a cost that supports commercial scale.

That is exactly what we’re doing with Luminar Halo. Building on the foundation of Iris, Halo is purpose-built for high-speed, low-visibility environments – requirements essential to enable Level 3 and beyond. And despite still being in the development phase, Halo has already been selected by two major global automakers. That kind of early validation doesn’t happen unless the value proposition is clear.

What excites me even more is that the opportunity doesn’t stop at passenger vehicles. We’re already seeing strong traction in commercial markets, from heavy equipment with Caterpillar to defense and military applications. Our LiDAR platform is multi-functional, and with the right approach, it can unlock significant value across various industries beyond automotive. 

That said, it’s also clear that Luminar has a lot of work left ahead. We were slow to adjust to the more challenging macro environment, addressing our cost structure, and oftentimes our capital was spread too thin across different initiatives where we should’ve focused resources on what matters most. The end result was organizational inefficiency and delayed progress on critical programs.

We are changing that - quickly and decisively.

Since joining, I have initiated a company-wide prioritization effort focused on aligning resources to where we are most differentiated and best positioned to win. We are addressing customer pain points with urgency. We are making hard decisions about what stays on the roadmap and what doesn’t. We are tightening expenses, reducing our cash burn, and working more closely with our partners to scale more efficiently. And we are actively taking steps to restructure the balance sheet to ensure long-term resilience.

This is how we will operate going forward - with accountability, discipline, and sharp execution.

I know this hasn’t been an easy journey. But the underlying value in this company is real, and with the right operating model, it can be realized. We’re entering a new chapter, and while there is significant work ahead, I have never been more confident in what this company can become.

I can’t promise perfection, but what I can promise is my commitment to transparency, delivering on our promises, and earning your trust with results. I look forward to the journey ahead and to sharing our progress with you in the months and quarters to come.

Sincerely,
Paul Ricci
Chief Executive Officer

The Luminar Q1’25 Business Update press release and presentation are now available on our Investor website: 

https://investors.luminartech.com/financial-information/financial-results

Luminar will host a video webcast, featuring a business update and financials followed by a live Q&A session.

 Video webcast featuring strategic plan, quarterly business update, Q1 financials and live Q&A.

A live webcast of the event will be available on Luminar’s Investor site at 

https://www.luminartech.com/quarterlyreview

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

Luminar Shares Operating Plan & Reports Strong Q1’25 Financials

April 2025 Wrap-Up

The new advisory council will help advance Luminar’s growth strategy and its mission to save lives.

 – April 16, 2025 – Luminar (Nasdaq: LAZR), a leading global automotive technology company, today announced the formation of the Luminar Automotive Council (LAC), a new team of executive advisors to help inform Luminar’s growth strategy and advance its global mission to enhance auto safety.

The LAC brings together veteran industry leaders from the automotive, governmental, and other related sectors with decades of experience leading the world’s largest OEMs and automotive manufacturers, including Mercedes-Benz, Tesla, Jaguar Land Rover and Ford, as well as the U.S. Department of Transportation.

As the first high-performing LiDAR to be introduced as standard on a global production vehicle, Luminar is now focused on enabling adoption at scale with its next generation LiDAR, Luminar Halo. The council will help foster key relationships with potential customers, OEMs, contract manufacturing partners and other ecosystem players in facilitating this adoption. Members will also advise Luminar on major industry trends, overall market conditions and the regulatory environment. They will provide ‘voice of the customer’ feedback as Luminar works to advance its mission of automotive safety worldwide.

“The automotive industry stands at the crossroads today, as technology and consumer demand combine to create a new moment for safety and autonomy," said Dr. Dieter Zetsche, former CEO of the Board of Management of Daimler and head of Mercedes-Benz. “The opportunity is almost limitless, and I am happy to be collaborating with the Council and Luminar to facilitate new opportunities for Luminar and the greater adoption of its breakthrough safety advances.”

Luminar Automotive Council members include:

Dr. Dieter Zetsche, Former CEO of the Board of Management of Daimler and head of Mercedes-Benz

Dr. Dieter Zetsche is one of the most illustrious automotive executives of the past few decades. He was a valued member of the Board of Management for Daimler holding various areas of responsibility till he became its CEO in 2006, a responsibility he kept until his retirement in 2019. Among other responsibilities he has been the Chairman of the supervisory board of TUI AG since 2019.

Hon. Elaine Chao, 24th U. S. Secretary of Labor & 18thU.S. Secretary of Transportation

Secretary Chao is the first Asian-Pacific American woman to be appointed to the President's cabinet in U. S. history and the longest serving cabinet secretary since World War II. Among Secretary Chao’s focus at the U. S. Department of Transportation was keeping America’s transportation system safe and efficient and engaging with new technologies including autonomous vehicles to build the transportation system of the future. During the COVID-19 health crisis, Secretary Chao’s decisive actions kept America’s transportation networks safe and moving. As U.S. Secretary of Labor, Secretary Chao focused on increasing the competitiveness of the American workforce in a global economy. She set new records for workplace safety and health and ensured the retirement security of 44 million retirees by spearheading the passage of the Pension Protection Act of 2006. Secretary Chao has served on numerous Fortune 500 companies while out of government. She is a graduate of the Harvard Business School and the recipient of 38 honorary degrees.Please visit her website:www.elainechao.com.

Brigadier General Leo Austin Brooks Jr (Ret.)

Leo A. Brooks, Jr. is a retired Brigadier General in the United States Army, and has held senior executive roles for nearly two decades with The Boeing Company, including most recently as the Vice President of Enterprise Subsidiary Integration, Government Operations, and as Vice President of Defense, Space and Security. Prior to joining Boeing in August 2006, Brooks served in the United States Army for 27 distinguished years, with key assignments as an infantry battalion and brigade commander in the 82nd Airborne Division, and as Commandant of Cadets at the United States Military Academy at West Point. Brooks has received numerous awards and honors, notably the Army’s Distinguished Service Medal, and three awards of the Legion of Merit, among others. He is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

In early 2010, Prof Dr Ralf D Speth became Chief Executive Officer of Jaguar Land Rover and a member of the Tata Motors board later that year. In 2016, Ratan Tata also appointed him to the Supervisory Board of Tata Sons Ltd. Sir Ralf started his professional career at BMW, where he stayed for 20 years before joining Ford Motor Company's Premier Automotive Group (PAG) and later Linde Group, the international gasses, materials handling and engineering company. Sir Ralf is a professor at the University of Warwick and has been a member of the Royal Academy of Engineering since 2014. In 2015, he was appointed Knight of the British Empire (KBE). In 2019 he was Knighted as Additional Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire. In 2020 Sir Ralf was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society. Sir Ralf was nominated as a Non-Executive Director and Vice Chairman of the JLR Board following his retirement. He continues his role on the Supervisory Board of Tata Sons Ltd. He is also the Chairman of TVS Motor Company and supports several supervisory boards.

During his more than 10 years in the C-suite for the Lear Corporation, Matthew Simoncini oversaw the dramatic turnaround of the automobile seating and electrical systems manufacturer. Simoncini is a member of Luminar’s Board of Directors and acts as liaison between the Board and the LAAC.

Jerome Guillen is a seasoned automotive executive with expertise in product development, engineering, sales, operations, service and more. During his nearly ten years at Tesla, Guillen led a variety of senior executives roles, including overseeing the Model S and the Semi, and finally as the President of Tesla, Inc. Prior to working at the EV maker he led the development of the Freightliner Cascadia for Daimler Trucks.

Joe Hinrichs is currently President & CEO of CSX, the largest railroad in the eastern United States.Hinrichs spent over 30 years in the automotive industry, retiring as President of Ford’s global automotive business in 2020. He spent ten years at General Motors and over 19 years at Ford and has served as an advisor to Luminar previously.

Chris Charlton is the Chairman of Luminar’s Automotive Advisory Council and a founder of the sales liaison of choice for worldwide manufacturers that supply products for some of the world's largest automotive groups. He brings decades of experience uncovering new opportunities and guiding clients to successful partnerships with leading OEMs around the world.

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 various partners, ranging from Volvo Cars and Mercedes-Benz to NVIDIA and Mobileye, to develop and deploy the world's most advanced passenger vehicles. Following the launch of the Volvo EX90 as the first global production vehicle to standardize its technology, Luminar is poised to lead the industry in enabling next-generation safety and autonomous capabilities for global production vehicles. For more information please visit www.luminartech.com.

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of 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. The forward-looking statements include statements relating to expectations regarding opportunities to advance the Company’s growth strategy, to save lives, to enhance automotive safety and autonomy, and to expand the adoption of LiDAR technology. Forward-looking statements are based on expectations and assumptions by our management and involve a number of risks, uncertainties, and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those stated, including that next-generation sensors and software will be developed successfully, that these systems will perform as intended and achieve meaningful safety or efficiency improvement, and that automaker agreements will develop successfully into product launches. More information on these risks and other potential factors that could affect the Company’s business is included in the Company’s periodic filings with the SEC, including in the “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” sections of the Company’s most reports on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q. The Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made.

Luminar Announces Automotive Council with Former Heads of Mercedes-Benz,  Tesla, Ford and U.S. Transportation Policy

ES90 unveiled, Luminar Halo overview, NVIDIA GTC conference, TechAD in Germany, Gatik accelerates production, Q4 earnings and our new Caterpillar contract in our March 2025 Monthly Wrap-Up.



On March 5th Volvo Cars unveiled its new ES90—the second global production vehicle to feature Luminar’s LiDAR technology in the roofline.

Luminar was the world’s first and only LiDAR technology to be standardized on a global production vehicle with the introduction of the Volvo EX90 last year.

“The Iris LiDAR on ES90 will complement an advanced set of sensors and enable exceptional perception to help keep everyone safe inside and around the car," said Alwin Bakkenes, Head of Software Engineering, Volvo Cars. "The selection of the Iris LiDAR builds on our partnership with Luminar and our shared commitment to automotive safety.”

Luminar’s LiDAR technology does not rely on light like a camera, which makes it especially superior at night, where a disproportionate number of accidents may occur. It can detect pedestrians at up to 250-meter distances and something as small and dark as a tire on a black road 120 meters ahead, all while traveling at highway speeds.

The introduction of the Volvo ES90 with Luminar’s Iris LiDAR will expose a new set of car buyers to Luminar’s safety critical technology and reinforces the shared commitment between Volvo Cars and Luminar to automotive safety.

Read the full press release here: 

https://www.luminartech.com/updates/luminar-technology-selected-on-new-fully-electric-volvo-es90



Last month we went behind the scenes with the Luminar team to talk all things 

Luminar Halo, our latest generation of automotive grade LiDAR, was designed to deliver unmatched performance in the smallest possible package. Compared to our industry leading Iris sensor, the Luminar Halo sensor platform is 1/3 the size but can deliver up to 4x the performance, enabling Luminar Halo to be placed in the vehicle roofline or behind the windshield.

These innovations will be key in unlocking the potential to make millions of consumer vehicles nearly uncrashable.

Learn more about the development of Luminar Halo straight from the Luminar Technologies team: 

https://youtu.be/mzUfi6zf8QU?si=h0zZSRA43dHNmXx-



NVIDIA GTC is hosted annually, bringing together thousands of developers, engineers, and business leaders to explore how AI and accelerated computing are helping address some of humanity's most difficult challenges.

Exhibitors at NVIDIA's GTC are by invitation only, and Luminar was on full display. The team conducted demos of our Sentinel Evaluation Kits which provide automakers with a turnkey solution for evaluating Luminar’s software suite for integration into future advanced safety and autonomous driving programs.

And for the first time this year, visitors at NVIDIA’s GTC 2025 conference were able experience the 3D map Luminar LiDAR creates with a VR headset from inside a Volvo EX90.

With help from our partners at Volvo Cars and NVIDIA, the Luminar team conducted hundreds of demos of our LiDAR technology for attendees from across the globe. Thanks to all who came out to see us at the show and we look forward to NVIDIA GTC 2026!



Members of the Luminar team recently supported the TechAD conference in Berlin, Germany. TechAD brings together a wide range of engineers and automotive experts from OEMs, Tier 1s, suppliers and leading research institutes to discuss all things Autonomous Driving (AD) and Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS).


The Luminar team presented on the topic of using LiDAR technology to safeguard AI development in automotive. Using a high performing LiDAR like Luminar's to safeguard AI can enable both established and emerging AI systems to address safety-critical applications. LiDAR as a safeguard can also:

reduce the amount of training and validation data necessary to field a safe solution,

allow AI systems to lean forward and consume more scope without as much concern to false-positive results

To learn more about how LiDAR can be used to safeguard automotive AI, see our recently published fact sheet: 

https://www.luminartech.com/updates/lidar-design-lab-safeguarding-ai

Gatik Accelerates Level 4 Autonomous Truck Production



In March, our partners at Gatik announced they are collaborating with NVIDIA to accelerate mass production of Gatik's Level 4 Autonomous Trucks--each of which are equipped with four Luminar Iris sensors.

Gatik is the leader in autonomous middle-mile logistics and supports the needs of a variety of Fortune 500 customers, including Walmart, Kroger and Tyson Foods.

Check out their full release here: 

https://gatik.ai/news/press-releases/gatik-collaboration-with-nvidia/



Luminar hosted our Q4, 2024 Earnings Call on Thursday, March 20th. The team reported Q4 revenue up 45% quarter over quarter, exceeding forecasts, as well as gross margin and operating expenditure improvements.

The team also provided general business updates, including our ongoing relationships with Volvo Cars, Mercedes and Nissan, as well as new contracts and what to expect in the months ahead.

A full replay of the call including the live Q&A, as well as the press release and supporting presentation, can be found here: 

Q4 2024 Luminar Quarterly Financial Results Update

Caterpillar to Integrate Luminar's LiDAR Technology into Next-Gen Autonomous Trucks



We closed out March with some big news as we announced Luminar's LiDAR technology will be integrated into Caterpillar's next-gen autonomous off-highway trucks.

Luminar’s LiDAR technology will be introduced as part of Caterpillar's Cat® Command for hauling, initially targeted for quarry and aggregate operations. Cat® Command is Caterpillar's fully autonomous solution, and the Cat® off-highway truck will feature two Iris LiDAR with a unique integration system designed exclusively for Caterpillar.

Caterpillar is an industry leader in autonomy, with autonomous trucks on three continents having traveled more than 334 million kilometers and autonomously moving more than 9.3 billion tonnes.

You can read the full press release here: 




________________________________________

And that’s a wrap on March 2025. For real time updates follow us on 

and as always, thanks for your interest and ongoing support!


March 2025 Wrap-Up

Deterministic safeguards can enable both emerging and established AI systems to address safety-critical applications.

AI models famously exhibit unknown points of failure (commonly called AI hallucinations) because of a fundamentally inference-based output and a reliance on training data breadth and depth. Automotive AI systems suffer from both hallucinations and the inability to see objects and obstacles they have not been trained to recognize.

 Training is both nuanced and expensive. AI brings forward biases and inaccuracies of the dataset used to train it (e.g. 

). These biases are difficult to predict beforehand, and in automotive applications can have safety-critical consequences.

 Even when a training methodology is thorough, there are still unknown points of failure when the trained system experiences scenarios sufficiently different from its training set. General obstacles like road debris, for example, can have such a diverse appearance that training a system to recognize them on sight may require prohibitively large amounts of training data.

 A deterministic safeguard provides a cost-effective way to deploy emerging AI systems and mitigate operational risk for both emergent and established systems by serving as the basis for an Automotive Safety Integrity Level (ASIL) and Safety of the Intended Functionality (SOTIF) safety rating. This lets the AI systems lean forward and deploy with real risk of aberrant AI inferences (i.e. 

LiDAR is the only sensor type that provides this deterministic 3D measurement at sufficient range & resolution

The inherent information captured by LiDAR is three dimensional, as is the environment the vehicle needs to navigate.It is therefore possible to generate a distillation of that 3D environment that can act as a provable set of boundaries – free of probability, training, and inference. This is unique to LiDAR because, unlike camera and radar, the LiDAR can tell you where there is nothing (drivable freespace) in addition to where there are obstacles.

Luminar LiDAR delivers the longest-range freespace detection as well as the most accurate obstacle size estimation.

Luminar’s LiDAR architecture (1550nm, narrow divergence, linear time of flight) enables detection of the hardest targets with high fidelity. This means the vehicle can directly detect and understand the nuance of what space is readily drivable (road), cautiously drivable (gravel, grass), and not drivable (sidewalk).

 With all this in mind, a central theme of Luminar’s software in development is a dual-path approach running sensor data through both a purely classical pipeline (the safeguard) and an AI pipeline (the classifier & predictor). This allows us to deliver the best of both algorithmic worlds and enable the safest and most performant vehicle systems in the world.

LiDAR Design Lab: Safeguarding AI

– Luminar (Nasdaq: LAZR), a leading global automotive technology company, announced a collaboration with Caterpillar Inc. to integrate LiDAR technology into Caterpillar’s next generation autonomous solution.

LiDAR, which stands for Light Detection and Ranging, is critical for navigation and obstacle detection in autonomous machines. LiDAR uses light in the form of a pulsed laser to continuously scan the surrounding environment and provide high-precision measurement of the shape and size of objects nearby.

The Luminar LiDAR technology will be introduced with Cat® Command for hauling, initially targeted for quarry and aggregate operations. The Cat® off-highway truck will feature two Iris LiDAR with a unique integration system designed exclusively for Caterpillar. Caterpillar has long been recognized as an industry leader in autonomy, with autonomous trucks on three continents having traveled more than 334 million kilometers and autonomously moving more than 9.3 billion tonnes.

“We are proud to collaborate with Luminar on our next generation autonomous solution. We’ve invested in autonomy and automation for more than 30 years, and we’ve seen how it adds value for our customers in terms of safety, productivity and efficiency,” said Jaime Mineart, Chief Technology Officer and Senior Vice President of Integrated Components and Solutions for Caterpillar Inc.

"This new partnership with Caterpillar, the global leader in industrial equipment, has the opportunity to be a spearhead for next industrial revolution of automation,” said Austin Russell, Founder and CEO of Luminar. “Now that Luminar has successfully executed for automotive series production, we’re able to branch out to adjacent markets with a shared mission. Together, we look forward to saving lives and enhancing profitability for CAT customers around the world with industry-leading capabilities."

With 2024 sales and revenues of $64.8 billion, Caterpillar Inc. is the world’s leading manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, off-highway diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and diesel-electric locomotives. For 100 years, we’ve been helping customers build a better, more sustainable world and are committed and contributing to a reduced-carbon future. Our innovative products and services, backed by our global dealer network, provide exceptional value that helps customers succeed. Caterpillar does business on every continent, principally operating through three primary segments – Construction Industries, Resource Industries and Energy & Transportation – and providing financing and related services through our Financial Products segment. Visit us at 

 or join the conversation on our social media channels at 

caterpillar.com/en/news/social-media.html


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 various partners, ranging from Volvo Cars and Mercedes-Benz to NVIDIA and Mobileye, to develop and deploy the world's most advanced passenger vehicles. Following the launch of the Volvo EX90 as the first global production vehicle to standardize its technology, Luminar is poised to lead the industry in enabling next-generation safety and autonomous capabilities for global production vehicles. For more information, please visit 


This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of 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. The forward-looking statements include statements relating to expectations regarding opportunities to advance automation, to save lives and to enhance profitability. Forward-looking statements are based on expectations and assumptions by our management and involve a number of risks, uncertainties, and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those stated, including that next-generation sensors and software will be developed successfully, and that these systems will perform as intended and achieve meaningful safety or efficiency improvement. More information on these risks and other potential factors that could affect the Company’s business is included in the Company’s periodic filings with the SEC, including in the “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” sections of the Company’s most reports on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q. The Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made.

The Luminar Q4’24 Business Update press release and presentation are now available on our Investor website: 

Founder and CEO Austin Russell and CFO Tom Fennimore will host a video webcast, featuring a business update and financials followed by a live Q&A session.

 Video webcast featuring quarterly business update and financials, Q4 financials and live Q&A

For additional information or to be added to Luminar's investor distribution list, please visit us at 

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

Luminar Reports Strong Q4’24 Business Update & Financials 

The New Volvo ES90 marks the second Volvo car model to feature Luminar’s technology, following the successful launch and customer delivery of the Volvo EX90 SUV

 – March 5, 2025 – Luminar (Nasdaq: LAZR), a leading global automotive technology company announced that Luminar’s technology will be equipped in the new Volvo ES90, which is slated for production this year. This marks the second Volvo car model to feature Luminar’s technology, following the successful launch of the automaker’s flagship SUV, the Volvo EX90, which is now being delivered to customers.

“We’re proud to be selected in conjunction with industry leaders like NVIDIA for a second global automotive launch as Volvo Cars expands its new lineup,” said Austin Russell, Founder and CEO of Luminar. “The Volvo ES90 will help scale our safety critical technology at a time when consumers, automakers, and regulators alike are demanding the most advanced sensing capabilities in their roadmaps — and this is just the beginning.”

“The Iris LiDAR on ES90 will complement an advanced set of sensors and enable exceptional perception to help keep everyone safe inside and around the car,” said Alwin Bakkenes, Head of Software Engineering, Volvo Cars. “The selection of the Iris LiDAR builds on our partnership with Luminar and our shared commitment to automotive safety.”

LiDAR, which stands for Light Detection and Ranging, is a remote sensing method that uses light in the form of a pulsed laser to measure ranges with high precision and fidelity. Coupled with advanced sensors such as radars, cameras, and ultrasonic sensors, LiDAR continuously scans the environment in front of the car, enabling an accurate and high-precision estimate of the shape and size of objects in three-dimensional understanding of the surroundings, helping expand the safety margins.

As a pioneer and leader in safety, Volvo Cars is introducing advanced driver assistance features using the state-of-the-art sensors set including LiDAR on ES90. Expanding the partnership to integrate LiDAR technology into a product that redefines the large premium Volvo car for the electrical age, will expose a new category of car buyer to this advanced technology. The Volvo ES90 will use the latest SPA2 platform that underpins the Volvo EX90, with Luminar’s LiDAR seamlessly integrated into the roofline of the vehicle. Coupled with other advanced sensors such as radars, cameras and ultrasonic sensors, the LiDAR on the Volvo ES90 will help further improve safety for everyone in and around the car.


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 various partners, ranging from Volvo Cars and Mercedes-Benz to NVIDIA and Mobileye, to develop and deploy the world's most advanced passenger vehicles. Following the launch of the Volvo EX90 as the first global production vehicle to feature its technology, Luminar is poised to lead the industry in enabling next-generation safety and autonomous capabilities for global production vehicles. For more information, please visit 


This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of 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. Forward-looking statements are based on expectations and assumptions by our management and involve a number of risks, uncertainties, and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those stated, including that next-generation sensors and software will be developed successfully or will accelerate automaker adoption, that new automaker agreements will develop successfully into product launches, and that these systems will perform as intended and achieve meaningful safety improvement. More information on these risks and other potential factors that could affect the Company’s business is included in the Company’s periodic filings with the SEC, including in the “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” sections of the Company’s most reports on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q. The Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made.

Media Relations:
Milin Mehta
Press@luminartech.com


Investor Relations:
Aileen Smith
Investors@luminartech.com

NVIDIA GTC, more awards for Luminar Halo, Nissan's comments on LiDAR, the advantages of 1550nm and our upcoming quarterly earnings in our February 2025 Monthly Wrap-Up:

Luminar will be on full display at this year's 

, including a couple demos that will be available to the public for the first time:

For the first time, visitors at NVIDIA’s GTC conference can experience the kind of 3D map Luminar LiDAR creates of the world around your car from inside a Volvo EX90.

Luminar LiDAR allows your car to see hundreds of meters ahead with centimeter level precision in all kinds of conditions--darkness, fog, rain, snow, and more.

Using a VR headset, visitors can go into the sensor point cloud and explore the level of detail provided by Luminar’s LiDAR—all in 3D.

Our Sentinel Evaluation Kits provide automakers with a turnkey solution for evaluating Luminar’s software suite for integration into future advanced safety and autonomous driving programs including:

The Luminar team will be conducting live demos with our Sentinel Evaluation Kits onsite at the show.

More to come on Luminar’s presence at NVIDIA GTC as we get closer to show. If you are planning to attend, come see us in booth #1642 across from our partners at Volvo Cars.

!  This award recognizes Luminar Halo as one of the best among almost 11,000 submissions from 66 countries.

The iF Design Awards represent a seal of quality for outstanding design. It is awarded by iF International Forum Design GmbH, one of the oldest independent design institutions in the world, for over 70 years.

To minimize the visual and aerodynamic impact of Luminar Halo, we have reduced the height for which the sensor needs to extend above the rooﬂine, effectively enabling the sleekest LiDAR rooﬂine integration ever.

This marks the 3rd major design award for Luminar Halo, following Luminar’s win for Best Industrial Design in the 2024 Silicon Valley UX Awards and being named GOLD in the 2024 Spark Design Awards.

 for more information on Luminar’s award.

ICYMI:  Nissan Talks LiDAR on Q3 2024 Earnings Call

“In 2026, [Nissan] will concentrate on the evolution of intelligent cockpits and driving-assistant technology along with many other differentiated innovations. In the mid- to long-term, we will revolutionize autonomous driving experiences with door-to-door autonomous driving technology, next-generation collision avoidance features 

using LiDAR with a goal of widespread adoption

CEO Makota Uchida
Nissan Motor Corporation
Nissan Q3 2024 Earnings Call
Feb. 13 2025

Luminar has been working with Nissan since 2022

 to help develop their vision for reducing traffic accidents and enabling future autonomy.

In vehicle safety, critical decisions can come down to fractions of a second. Luminar's high performing LiDAR is uniquely designed for the demands of automotive, enabling cars to see further at higher speeds in order to maximize the amount of time available to make life-saving decisions.

While most of the LiDAR market was founded around existing technologies at a wavelength around 900 nanometers, Luminar made a conscious decision early on to operate at 1550 nanometers. This is further away from human vision, so the amount of energy that can safely be sent in the world is much higher. As a result, this gives us the ability to send more light out, which in turn allows us to see things much further away and in more resolution.

At a time where most of the market is creating separate products to meet the performance and packaging goals needed in automotive, Luminar continues to leverage 1550nm and advanced technology towards developing single products that meet both goals.

For a quick primer on the importance of wavelength, 

see Luminar’s recently published one-pager on wavelength.

Luminar will provide its quarterly business update, including full-year 2024 milestones and financials, following the close of the market on Thursday, March 20, 2025. For details on how to participate, visit 

https://investors.luminartech.com/news-events/press-releases/detail/95/luminar-to-provide-quarterly-business-update-on-march-20

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And that’s a wrap on February 2025. For real time updates follow us on 

and as always, thanks for your interest and ongoing support!

February 2025 Wrap-Up


The longest range and most weather agnostic LiDAR wavelength is 1550nm.

All LiDAR sensors utilize a laser with a specific wavelength; each with its own unique physics constraints. Today’s LiDAR sensors (as well as tomorrow’s roadmap of sensors) are primarily 1550nm or 905/940nm. 1550nm offers superior performance over its 9xxnm counterparts in virtually every measure.

y: Due to international eye safety standards, 1550 nm wavelength lasers can send 17x the number of photons out into the world than is allowed from those below 1000 nm (e.g. 905 nm, 940 nm). This means 1550 nm LiDAR has the potential for 17x resolution, 4x the detection range or some blend thereof as compared to a 9xx nm LiDAR.

LiDAR wavelength performance in weather is significantly more complicated than the other considerations covered here, but on the whole, 1550nm wavelength performs best overall - better than 905nm in humid air and scatter scenarios (e.g. fog), and significantly better than 940nm in humid air.

Significantly more sunlight reaches the Earth at 905 nm than 940 nm or 1550 nm, meaning the “floor” for detection of 905 nm systems is much higher than its counterparts. This provides a major sensitivity advantage to 1550nm and 940nm systems.

Production of 1550nm LiDAR uses parts developed specifically for the demands of the automotive use case, while 9xx nm was built on parts intended for consumer applications.

Different wavelengths require different semiconductor materials for detection. 9xx nm systems are detected by silicon (sand), a common single-element selected for its available thanks to the infrastructure of the camera semiconductor industry rather than its suitability for use in automotive applications. 1550 nm detection requires Indium Gallium Arsenide (InGaAs), an alloy consisting of less readily available materials that ultimately provide superior performance in automotive applications. Luminar has spent a decade developing the technology (backed by 200+ patents) and supply chain (now consolidated as Luminar Semiconductor, Inc.) to supply a product that truly meets the automotive industry needs – maximizing performance and reliability while minimizing cost.

For more information on the importance of wavelength, visit 

LiDAR Design Lab: Wavelength

Global conferences, private demos, car deliveries, an insurance win, design awards and more in our January 2025 Monthly Wrap-Up: 

The Luminar team met with everyone from automakers to suppliers at CES 2025, making this year’s CES one of our most productive to date.

Luminar’s technology was on full display as part of our key partner exhibits, including Volvo’s EX90 with Luminar’s Iris technology as standard featured in NVIDIA’s CES showcase. And for the first time, 

 was displayed integrated into an all-glass panoramic rooftop by our partners at Wideye® by AGC. 

The team also gave key customers a sneak peak at the inner mechanics of 

 as well as the various applications this new smaller, more powerful form factor enables. 

 is our next generation LiDAR sensor, designed to have 2x the resolution of Iris yet 1/3 the size, giving it the lowest install profile in the industry. 

Automotive World Expo with Cornes in Japan

In partnership with Cornes Technologies, the Luminar team attended the Automotive World Expo in Tokyo, Japan from Jan. 21-23. Luminar Halo was a key focus with the team giving live presentations covering the launch of Volvo Car’s EX90 featuring Luminar LiDAR—the first global production vehicle to include LiDAR as standard –and our next generation LiDAR technology, Luminar Halo.

The next big expo for our team in Japan will be the 

Automotive Engineering Exposition 2025, in YOKOHAMA, Japan, May 21-23

The Luminar Team headed over to Volvo Cars’ factory in South Charleston to get up close and personal with production on Volvo's EX90 featuring Luminar’s Iris technology as standard. In addition to checking out our hardware on the factory floor, the team also picked up a couple of our first Volvo EX90s for our teams back in Orlando. 

The Luminar Semiconductor Inc. team headed to San Francisco this week to participate in the 

, the world’s largest photonics technologies event! 

Our team presented their development work related to 

increasing the reliability and reducing the cost of pump lasers

 (a key component used by all 1550nm fiber lasers) and hosted multiple booths on the show floor.

The Luminar Semi team not only develops the advanced receiver, laser and processing chips that power Luminar Halo, they also develop photonic solutions for defense and aerospace, sensing and instrumentation, optical communications and robotics. 

In January 2025, Luminar was named an Insurance Innovation Award winner by InnSure for our upcoming insurance product! 

Recognized as a novel, innovative solution, Luminar Insurance is expected to accelerate the adoption of Luminar's LiDAR technology on passenger vehicles to help significantly improve vehicle safety. 

The Luminar team was awarded GOLD in the 2024 Spark Design Awards!

The Spark Design Awards identify products across a broad spectrum that represent designing our future—specifically highlighting big ideas embodied as great designs. 

Luminar Halo was named a Gold Winner in the Spark Awards Transport category. This is the second major design accolade for Luminar Halo, following Luminar’s win for Best Industrial Design in the 2024 Silicon Valley UX Awards.

Luminar Halo is designed from the chip-level up for deployment across millions of vehicles with improved performance, sleeker streamlined vehicle integration, and automated assembly.

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And that’s a wrap on January 2025. Our next big event will be 

NVIDIA’s GTC Conference in San Jose, California, March 17-21

 with our partners at NVIDIA and Volvo Cars.

January 2025 Wrap-Up

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)

The Luminar Q3’24 Business Update press release and presentation are now available on our Investor website: 

Updates

Videos

Luminar Starts Production for Volvo Cars

#RisingAuto R7 Electric Car with Luminar Lidar

Automatic Emergency Steering (AES) Demo

Industry news

Polestar 3's Lidar Aims to Save Your Life Like Bullet Time Saved Neo in The Matrix

Robotaxis Are More Than a Decade Away, Says Luminar’s CEO Austin Russell

Luminar’s Lidar Technology Will Dethrone Tesla in the Driverless Car Race

Nissan ramps up self-driving programme with Luminar lidar tech