June Monthly Wrap-Up
New leadership at Luminar, Luminar technology in use by the U.S. Army and the nation's first autonomous public transit system, an EV conference with Volvo, more design awards for Halo and an autonomous racing record in our June Monthly Wrap Up.
Luminar Welcomes CEO Paul Ricci
June marked the first official month for Luminar’s new CEO Paul Ricci. Paul previously served as Chairman and CEO of Nuance for nearly two decades. He joined Nuance when the stock was at just $1, and with support from his team, helped transform the company into a leading provider of conversational speech and AI solutions, ultimately delivering over $10B in shareholder value.
Paul recently participated in a Reddit AMA and shared what drew him to Luminar, what changes lie ahead, and where he sees the biggest opportunities for the company’s future in an open letter you can read here.
Helping Enable Autonomy for the U.S. Army
Luminar’s Iris LiDAR made an appearance on CNBC in a segment showcasing how commercial tech is helping bring autonomy to diverse sectors, including defense initiatives with the U.S. Army.
Luminar’s LiDAR tech is in use in a wide variety of applications from mining and heavy industry to high value facility security to military and defense applications—anywhere top-tier performance and reliability are critical. You can see the full story from CNBC here: The Army is testing 40+ new technologies on the battlefield
Iris Supports the First Autonomous Public Transit System in the U.S.
On June 30th, the Jacksonville Transportation Authority launched the nation’s first fully autonomous public transit system! Our partners at Beep provided the autonomous vehicles customized for Jacksonville and equipped with Luminar LiDAR. The vehicles service downtown Jacksonville and are free of charge through Sept. 30th. For more information see: https://www.jtafla.com/transit-services/navi/
Luminar and Volvo Cars at EVS 38
In June Luminar teamed up with Volvo Cars at EVS 38 to give attendees an immersive look at the world through Luminar’s LiDAR. Using a VR headset inside the Volvo ES90, attendees flew through a live 3D point cloud captured by our LiDAR, experiencing its precision and depth firsthand.
The ES90 is Volvo Car’s second global model with Luminar built into the roofline, following the groundbreaking EX90, the world's first global production vehicle to standardize LiDAR.
Halo Wins Again
June delivered yet another design award for Luminar Halo, courtesy of SF Design Week! Halo was recognized for its "ground-breaking design and commitment to thought leadership in meeting the needs of a positive future for society."
More recently, Halo was also named Winner in Product Design/Vehicle, Transport & Accessories at the DNA Paris Design Awards, making a grand total of 5 design awards won by Halo to date.
Autonomous Racecar Equipped with Luminar Technology Beats Human Driver Lap Record
For the first time ever, an autonomous racecar set a faster lap than a human driver at Italy’s Autodromo di Modena.
On the final day of Motor Valley Fest 2025, the Indy Autonomous Challenge (IAC) AV-24 vehicle, equipped with Iris sensors from Luminar and powered by Unimore Racing's AI driver, completed a record lap in 58.3 seconds, beating the 59.3 second record set by a Lamborghini Huracán STO in 2022.
The Indy Autonomous Challenge (IAC) gathers university student teams from around the world to compete in a series of autonomous racing challenges with the goal of advancing autonomous innovation. Unimore Racing, composed of students and researchers from the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, is one of 10 university teams from around the world competing in the Indy Autonomous Challenge.
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And that’s a wrap on June 2025. For real time updates follow us on LinkedIn, YouTube and X and as always, thanks for your interest and ongoing support!
