[AutonomousVehicles] luminar to provide self driving technology to Nvidia

[Cornelius Butler]

Hi Everyone,
A major deal between two suppliers of self driving technology has been
announced. Luminar will be providing technology to Nvidia. The article text
and link are below.

Article Link:
https://www.barrons.com/articles/luminar-wins-nvidia-business-in-self-driving-deal-its-a-big-win-for-the-lidar-maker-51636418195

Article Text:

Luminar Wins Nvidia Business in Self Driving Deal. It’s a Big Win for the
Lidar Maker.
By Al Root
Nov. 9, 2021 4:30 am ET

Lidar maker Luminar Technologies and tech-giant Nvidia are pairing up to
put self driving hardware into cars. It’s a huge deal for Luminar and shows
investors the development of autonomous driving technology is going to
accelerate.

Luminar (ticker: LAZR) announced early Tuesday morning that Nvidia (NVDA)
has selected the lidar startup’s technology for Nvidia’s autonomous driving
platform.

Lidar is essentially laser-based radar and is a key enabling technology
most auto makers believe are needed for self driving cars. Lidar gives cars
a way to see far down the road. All the lidar data coming in from sensors,
of course, has to be understood and processed by a car’s computer.

That’s where Nvidia comes in. Nvidia’s products provide the computing power
required for self-driving cars. And with Luminar’s technology, Nvidia will
have a complete package for auto makers including computing hardware and
sensors as well as software developed by both companies.

“Our collaboration with Luminar bolsters the [Nvidia] ecosystem of
companies that are focused on building best-in-class technologies for
enabling autonomous driving functionalities,” said Gary Hicok, Nvidia’s
senior vice president of engineering, in Luminar’s news release. “Luminar
is pioneering a unique, scalable solution that complements the [Nvidia’s]
platform.”

That’s quite a compliment for a technology start-up, and being able to meet
Nvidia’s requirements is a feather in the cap for Luminar. Nvidia is a
heavy hitter. The company has a market capitalization of more than $770
billion as of Monday’s closing price of $308.10.

What’s more, Nvidia sales to automotive customers over the past 12 months
have come in at about $576 million. That’s down about 16% year over year,
but the global semiconductor shortage has constrained auto production
around the globe. Before the pandemic, Nvidia’s auto business was up to
more than $700 million a year, growing at about 20%.

“The best of the field from a lidar standpoint [and] the best of the field
from a compute standpoint are joining forces to win the industry,” Luminar
CEO Austin Russell tells Barron’s. “This is the path of getting
autonomous-enable hardware on the streets.”

And with the right hardware—the right sensors and computers—auto makers can
add more self driving features by upgrading software as suppliers and auto
makers get better at self driving tech.

Luminar reports earnings Thursday after the close of trading. Investors and
analysts will get a chance to ask about self driving hardware and get more
detail about the business relationship.

Since the company last reported earnings in August, Luminar stock is flat.
The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average are up about 5% and 3%,
respectively.

Write to Al Root at allen.root at dowjones.com
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