US-based lidar technology developer Luminar yesterday unveiled $250m in funding provided by investors including specialty glass producer Corning, diversified conglomerate Cornes and vehicle manufacturer Volvo Cars.
Other backers in the company include G2VP, a venture firm spun out of Kleiner Perkins, as well as Moore Strategic Ventures, Westly Group, 1517 Fund, Canvas Ventures, Crescent Cove Advisors and Octave Ventures.
Two unnamed sovereign wealth funds and private investor Nick Woodman have also invested in the company. Volvo Cars participated through its strategic investment subsidiary Volvo Cars Tech Fund.
The company said the $250m figure included a $100m funding round closed recently, though it did not disclose any other details.
Founded in 2012, Luminar is working on a lidar platform called Iris for private cars and commercial trucks. The platform consists of hardware and software and is expected to be available commercially by 2022, at a cost of less than $1,000.
Iris combines high resolution with long range, creating a 3D model of a vehicle’s environment up to 250 metres. The technology also detects dark objects that have posed a challenge to date, such as black cars or tires in the road.
Luminar is using the capital to accelerate its entry into the consumer market and commercial series production. The company will collaborate with Corning on the manufacturing of optical components and has partnered Cornes to drive an expansion into Asia.
Ben Kortlang, founding partner of G2VP, and Scott McGregor, former chief executive and president of chipmaker Broadcom, have joined the board of directors.
