Luminar founder Austin Russell, the billionaire founder of Luminar, has stepped forward to buy the lidar maker, five months after he was replaced as CEO following an ethics investigation.
The takeover maneuver was revealed in an SEC filing by Russell early Friday morning. This includes his new company, Russell AI Labs, purchasing 100% of Luminar’s outstanding Class A common stock for an undisclosed price.
If that happens, Luminar could remain publicly traded and Russell AI Labs could “acquire another larger global automotive technology company” and merge it with Luminar to “create a unified technology platform business (‘Luminar 2.0’),” according to the filing. If that happens, Mr. Russell himself may invest in the newly combined company.
The proposal was made on October 14 at Luminar’s “proposal of certain shareholders” and “invitation of certain members of the board of directors,” which are not named in the filing. Luminar and Russell AI Labs did not respond to requests for comment.
The offer was as sudden and surprising as Russell’s replacement in May. Luminar announced Russell’s resignation on May 19, the same day the company announced its first-quarter financial results. The company has named former Xerox executive Paul Rich as his successor.
The company did not provide details about the reason for Mr. Russell’s absence, other than to say that the board’s audit committee conducted a “corporate conduct and ethics investigation.” Luminar has not yet explained what its investigation found. The company has been sued multiple times by shareholders over this move and how it was disclosed.
Still, Russell is no stranger to takeover attempts. In 2023, the company embarked on the acquisition of Forbes. However, it was reported that some investors who participated in the acquisition did not accept the deal, and the deal ultimately fell through. The bidding process was also marred by alleged ties to the Russian oligarch.
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Russell would remain on Luminar’s board and would be “available to consult with the next CEO on transition and technology issues,” according to the release. But he has been absent in at least some capacity since taking over, including not signing the company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (in his capacity as a director).
Meanwhile, Russell co-founded Russell AI Labs in September with Markus Schäfer, CTO and director of Mercedes-Benz Group AG, and Murtaza Ahmed, former partner at SoftBank Vision Fund. The new company claims to be “supporting and building innovative AI and frontier technology companies,” and has already acquired a $300 million stake in agent-based AI company Emergence.
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