What happened
Shares of Gores Metropoulous (GMHI) have skyrocketed today, up by 17% as of 12:30 p.m. EST, after Luminar announced a major design win with Intel's (INTC -3.67%) Mobileye subsidiary. Gores Metropoulous is a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) that is in the process of merging with Luminar to take the latter company public.
So what
Luminar will provide automotive lidar hardware to Mobileye as it continues to develop autonomous vehicle technologies. Mobileye has historically eschewed laser-based lidar in favor of relying primarily on cameras and computer vision, so the adoption of lidar marks a significant strategic shift for the company, which was acquired by Intel in 2017.
Image source: Getty Images.
The two companies will collaborate to implement lidar in Mobileye's first-generation mobility-as-a-service pilot as it tests its driverless fleet. The technology is expected to be a level 4 autonomous driving system.
"Mobileye disrupted the auto industry to become the undisputed king of [advanced driver assistance systems], and with the right partner is uniquely positioned to enable autonomy at an unprecedented scale," Luminar CEO Austin Russell said in a statement. "After collaborating with Mobileye for over a year, we're excited to formalize this deal and work toward a shared vision of making autonomy safe and ubiquitous."
Now what
Luminar says it now has 50 commercial partners, representing 75% of the largest companies in its target markets, which include passenger vehicles, trucking, and autonomous taxis. The company recently boosted its guidance for 2020 and expects its 2020 order book to be $1 billion to $1.3 billion. The merger with Gores Metropoulous is expected to close this quarter.