The founder and CEO of Luminar is one of the rare characters who can accumulate a huge fortune in the world of operating vehicles. He is currently the youngest self-made billionaire in the world.
"What a tiring, tiring journey ... We have to go through all the hardships every day to get the present. Of course, the opportunity to escape those tiring days is a great reward. when the company entered the market and grew steadily through the initial public offering, I am still quite young but… have experienced a lot of bitterness, sweat and tears during this journey. Luckily, I can achieve quite satisfactory results "- Russell shared with Forbes magazine in an online interview from his office in Palo Alto City, California - USA.
Austin owns about 104.7 million shares, or one-third of Luminar’s shares, with a total value of $ 2.4 billion. Luminar’s investors include billionaire Peter Thiel, co-founder of digital payment platform Pay Pal (USA) - who regularly sponsors scholarships worth $ 100,000 to outstanding individuals to they pursue their dreams.
This is also how billionaire Thiel supported Russell to found Luminar and in addition, he has been an advisor to this young man since he quit Stanford University (USA) to start his startup journey in the year 2012.
How did Russell become a billionaire?
Russell, who appear in the list of 30 excellent players under the age of 30 by Forbes in 2018, is completing Lidar - a sensor system to help self-driving car to "see" their surroundings by shining a laser into objects in their path. This is the technology platform for self-driving cars that has won the trust of big corporations such as Volvo Cars, Daimler and Intel’s Mobileye.
According to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), sales of Luminar will only reach about $ 15 million by 2020, but this figure could rise to at least $ 1.3 billion by 2026.
Austin Russell owns about 104.7 million shares, or one-third of Luminar’s shares, with a total value of $ 2.4 billion. Photo: NASDAQ
Before becoming a billionaire, Russell has achieved many remarkable achievements. According to information shared by Forbes , Russell memorized the periodic table of elements when he was only 2 years old.
By the sixth grade, Russell reconnected the Nintendo DS console to his cell phone after being banned by his parents. At the age of 13, Russell patented his first: an underground water recycling system that captures water from nozzles to reduce water waste.
Instead of high school, Russell spent his teens at the University of California at the Lase Irvine Beckman Research Institute. Later, Russell was admitted to Stanford University to study physics but gave up after only a few months, upon receiving a $ 100,000 scholarship from billionaire Thiel.
Once he was granted his driver’s license, Russell founded Luminar. Except for cases of inheritance, Russell is one of the few people who can become a billionaire before the age of 30.
Billionaire Peter Thiel, an advisor to Austin Russell from the early days. Photo: AP
The future of Russell and Luminar
As a teenager, Russell watched Velodyne and others make laser sensors, but insisted they needed to create more affordable products if they wanted them to be widely accepted.
"We can accelerate the startup journey because no one has done what we do" - Russell confirmed.
Despite being a technology billionaire, the guy from California doesn’t use popular social networking sites like Twitter or Instagram. However, Russell admits he has learned most of his knowledge from Wikipedia and YouTube.
Austin Russell wants to use the Lidar system to improve traffic safety. Photo: AP
Russell strongly believes that the Lidar system has the potential to save lives, when used in self-driving cars or with modern assistive systems that Volvo and other car manufacturers are using.
Russell is evaluating the impact of Lidar and plans to contribute the system to auto crash elimination ambitions.
"As Lidar becomes a new generation of vehicle safety technology used in every vehicle around the world, it is time I will confidently confirm that we have achieved our goal. "- Luminar founder declared.
