Luminar and Plus Partner for LiDAR and AI-Based Assisted Driving Software for Trucking

Luminar (Nasdaq: LAZR), a leading global automotive technology company, and
Plus, a global provider of highly automated driving and fully autonomous
driving solutions, announced a partnership to advance highly automated
driving and safety systems for commercial vehicle manufacturers. Under the
agreement, Luminar will be the exclusive provider of mid- to long-range
lidar for PlusDrive, Plus’s factory-installed assisted driving system for
commercial vehicles. In parallel, Plus will be the exclusive third-party
provider of AI-based enhanced driver assist software for Luminar’s solution
for commercial vehicle OEMs.

“Trucking is a key emerging market for Luminar, and the same products and
technology we’ve successfully executed on for our production consumer
vehicle programs are beginning to be deployed on commercial vehicles as
well,” said Luminar Founder and CEO Austin Russell. “We see Plus as a new
strategic partner for us to enable enhanced safety and autonomous
capabilities for production commercial vehicles at even greater scale, in
light of their commercial success with some of the largest companies in the
industry.”

Luminar’s Iris lidar is a first-of-its kind, automotive grade sensing
solution that enables high-performance, long-range detections. In addition
to production consumer vehicles, Iris uniquely meets the stringent
performance, robustness, and reliability requirements for class 8 commercial
trucks. Ultra long-range visibility is critical for trucking for both safety
and comfort, and Luminar’s lidar is capable of seeing as far as 600 meters
ahead. This represents as much as 20 seconds of visibility ahead at highway
speeds to ensure even fully-loaded trucks can smoothly come to a safe stop
when required. This provides a step-function improvement for ADAS systems
while enabling the necessary foundation for fully autonomous driving.

“The partnership between Luminar and Plus unlocks the tremendous business
value of next-generation safety and highly automated driving systems for
vehicle manufacturers and fleets alike. Luminar will enable PlusDrive to
achieve new heights in sensing at further distances and at highway speeds.
This will enable the scalable commercialization of driver-in technology
today and accelerate our customers’ path to full autonomy tomorrow,” said
David Liu, CEO and Co-Founder at Plus.

Plus’s driver-in, L2++ solution, PlusDrive, which enables supervised
autonomy is already commercially available and used to deliver freight by
some of the largest fleets in the world today. PlusDrive uses components
such as lidar, radar, and cameras from award-winning manufacturers to see
360 degrees around the vehicle and hundreds of meters ahead. The AI-based
software processes the data, predicts the behavior of surrounding vehicles,
and then safely maneuvers the vehicle. It automatically handles stop-and-go
traffic, lane changes, lane merges, nudging when next to an oversized
vehicle, and staying centered in the lane while the driver remains alert and
attentive. New driving features are continuously added via over-the-air
software updates.

Plus and Luminar will also aim to collaborate on Luminar’s commercial
vehicle insurance program, high definition mapping, and trucking sensor
integration called Blade.

About Luminar

Luminar is a global automotive technology company ushering in a new era of
vehicle safety and autonomy. For the past decade, Luminar has built an
advanced hardware and software platform to enable its more than 50 industry
partners, including the majority of global automotive OEMs. From Volvo Cars
and Mercedes-Benz for consumer vehicles and Daimler Trucks for commercial
trucks, to tech partners NVIDIA and Intel’s Mobileye, Luminar is poised to
be the first automotive technology company to enable next-generation safety
and autonomous capabilities for production vehicles. For more information
please visit www.luminartech.com.

About Plus

Plus is a global provider of highly automated driving and fully autonomous
driving solutions with headquarters in Silicon Valley, California. Named by
Forbes as one of America’s Best Startup Employers and by Fast Company as one
of the World’s Most Innovative Companies, Plus’s open autonomy technology
platform is already powering vehicles in commercial use today. Working with
leading vehicle manufacturers, fleets, and other technology companies
globally, Plus is helping to make driving safer, more comfortable, and more
sustainable. Plus has received a number of industry awards and distinctions
for its transformative technology and business momentum from Fast Company,
Forbes, Insider, Consumer Electronics Show, AUVSI, and others.

For more information, please visit www.plus.ai