Autonomous Driving Tech Company Luminar Explodes on Mercedes-Benz Deal

Shares of autonomous driving tech company Luminar were heading higher this week after Wall Street learned that the company had signed a deal with Mercedes-Benz.

Mercedes-Benz has signed a deal to use lidar technology from the start up company in its next generation of vehicles, the companies announced Thursday.

As part of the agreement, the luxury German automaker is expected to acquire up to 1.5 million shares of Luminar over time as milestones are met.

Luminar is preparing for serial production of its lidar technology later this year. The companies also agreed to share data.

Shares of Luminar jumped about 25% during intraday trading Thursday.

Both companies declined to say when Mercedes-Benz plans to begin using the lidar technology in its vehicles, but Luminar founder and CEO Austin Russell said it would be in “the not too distant future.”

Russell has said that the company’s Iris lidar system is able to “see” its surroundings. It displays them in colorful lines representing how far the objects are from the vehicle.

“It’s a huge deal for Luminar,” he said during an online interview. “It’s another major OEM [original equipment manufacturer] announcement and a major commercial win for us.”

Luminar last year announced Volvo would be the first automaker to offer Luminar’s lidar technology as standard on a new electric flagship SUV that’s scheduled to be unveiled later in 2022.

Luminar’s stock closed Thursday at $15 a share, up 11.5%.

Disclaimer: We have no position in any of the companies mentioned and have not been compensated for this article.