To the tune of roughly $800 million, Austin Russell, the 28-year-old Chairman and CEO of automotive technology firm Luminar Technologies, has acquired an 82% share in Forbes Global Media Holdings, the company that publishes Forbes magazine.
In 2014, Russell’s namesake family sold 95% of the company to the Hong Kong-based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments, and Russell now owns the remaining 5%, as reported by the Wall Street Journal.
Late on Friday, it was reported that Integrated Whale Media would keep a minority share.
According to the statement, Russell will not be involved in day-to-day operations but will instead serve as a “visionary” for the Forbes brand.
Forbes will soon be appointing a new board made up of prominent figures in the American media, IT, and AI industries. One of the board seats will remain with Integrated Whale.
Forbes, which was founded by BC Forbes in 1917, has announced that Russell will no longer be involved in day-to-day operations and that a new board consisting of professionals in American media, technology, and artificial intelligence (AI) would be appointed.
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The current market value of Luminar Technologies is $2.1 billion.
For the past ten years, Luminar has worked to provide its more than 50 industry partners, including the vast majority of global automobile OEMs, with a cutting-edge hardware and software platform.
With partners like NVIDIA and Intel’s Mobileye, Luminar is set to be the first automotive technology firm to provide next-generation safety and autonomous capabilities for production cars, including those made by Volvo Cars, Mercedes-Benz, and Daimler Trucks.
Luminar reported solid financial health and sales growth in Q1 2023, positioning the company well to accelerate business expansion and achieve positive cash flow.
It reported $14.5 million in revenue, an increase of 112% year-over-year. In 2023, Luminar anticipates a revenue increase of at least 100%.
All systems go at Luminar, and we’re demonstrating our capacity to execute, industrialize, and capitalize with great success. According to Russell, “Major automakers have continued to expand our technology throughout their vehicle ranges, betting on the future of their ADAS and autonomous roadmaps in conjunction with Luminar, during the past quarter.
FAQs
The Wall Street Journal reported earlier today that Luminar’s 28-year-old founder and CEO is purchasing an 82% stake in Forbes Global Media Holdings in a deal that values the company at nearly $800 million. Luminar specializes in the development of vision-based lidar and machine perception technologies, most of which are used in autonomous vehicles.
As the founder and CEO of Luminar Technologies (NASDAQ: LAZR), the world leader in automotive LiDAR hardware and software technology, Austin Russell is an innovator, business leader, and forerunner in the self-driving sector.
