Ask an Engineer CES 2025
It's my pleasure to announce that I will be attending CES 2025 in just over a week.. I have one on one time with Matt Weed Senior Director of product..
I would love to take engineering/product questions from the group with me, As the norm I will try to address all the questions I possibly can and will be merging some related questions together to save time and get more questions answered.. I will take the 5 top questions and reserve 5 to 10 more and get as many answers as I possibly can.
*As a bonus in the event I run into Tom or perhaps Austin let me know what you would like to ask.. (Likely one to two questions if that)
Once again thank you all for contributing to this subreddit and I want every member to know I appreciate what you guys contribute..
***UPDATE ( if you feel something has been missed DM me)
MATT WEED QUESTIONS
1)Given the headlines about Nissan/Honda partnership, How does Luminar view this potential Merger? Is it fair to say Nissan is ahead of honda in software development?
2) There seems to be a Gap in the industry between Lidar hardware development and software stacks hitting the market. How close are OEM's to hitting L3 autonomy and utilizing Proactive safety? When can we expect Sentinel to reach production ready status given the layoffs recently?
3) Halo is a big investment point for many investors, so this is a 3 part question..
- Is it still on track for a 2026/2027 Launch Window?
- Will it achieve the Lower Manufacturing cost point of sub 200 dollars?
- What is the most important performance advantages Halo brings over the competition?
4) We've seen interesting lidar integration patents from OEMs and Halo has been hinted at as possibly taking a modular approach to OEM needs in previous Q&A's, Does this mean multiple variants of Halo are possible and what are your thoughts on Roofline vs other integrations such as headlights, behind the windshield?
5) A few aspect investors note would be Celestica expense and a possible Gallium ban from china.. Could you tell us what benefits celestica brings to the table over TPK and also will a ban on Chinese Gallium be a problem for Luminar going forward?
Bonus questions
- Has Luminar been targeting adjacent markets lately, seeing as how industrial/agriculture market has seemingly grown.
- Luminar mentioned having space in it's halo design for a camera, what kind of possibilities are there regarding fusing Camera and Lidar data for ADAS and self driving?
- Could you explain Scale AI's role with luminar, What is data labeling and what makes it so important?
- How is Luminars relationship with NVIDIA progressing and what are the benefits to being the standard lidar provider on Hyperion platform?
Questions for Tom and Austin (if i see them)
- What was the reasoning for the RS when there was still plenty of time for Luminar to regain compliance?
- Will there be additional dilution coming, How much and when can we expect in the immediate future?
- Do we have enough capital to make it to profitability and what do you foresee for the company financially by 2027
- Has there been any notable interest in Halo now that there is a working sample? How many OEMs have been shown the new samples?
- Any news on Luminar Semi Conductor progress and non automotive deals?
Questions for IR ( I will see them)
1) Investors have been feeling out of the loop regarding luminar recently, What is the reasoning for the quiet news cycle in comparison to others in the industry who seemingly PR everything?
2) Can we expect to see more informative videos like in the past (path to production series, Matt Weed and Aaron Jefferson series)