"In early 2023, Luminar was riding high. After going public during the pandemic and scoring a key deal with Volvo, the company had added Mercedes-Benz and Polestar as customers of its " life-saving" lidar sensors. Founder and CEO Austin Russell called it an "inflection point," as Luminar prepped to have those sensors integrated into the first production vehicles. Volvo in particular was all-in on the technology."
"Luminar made "substantial up-front investments in equipment, facilities, and workforce" to meet the demand from Volvo back in 2022, according to a declaration written by Luminar's newly-hired chief restructuring officer Robin Chiu. It built out a manufacturing facility in Monterrey, Mexico, and spent nearly $200 million to prepare to make its Iris lidar sensors for Volvo's EX90 SUV. But, according to Chiu, problems were already brewing with Volvo."
Luminar invested heavily in manufacturing, facilities, and workforce to meet escalating Volvo orders, including building a Monterrey, Mexico factory and spending nearly $200 million to produce Iris lidar sensors for the EX90 SUV. Volvo repeatedly increased projected volumes through 2022 but later delayed the EX90 for additional software testing and development. In early 2024 Volvo reduced its expected Iris volume by 75%, triggering financial distress. Luminar sold a semiconductor subsidiary, sought buyers for its lidar business, and entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy while restructuring efforts continued.
Read at TechCrunch
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