Luminar Tech founder devotes $70 million for new Orlando charitable fund
By: Kate Santich
Photo By: Orlando Sentinel
Austin Russell, the 26-year-old Orlando tech genius and billionaire, is plunging into the philanthropy sector with a personal donation of $70 million in stock to create a charitable fund in Central Florida — though it has yet to be determined how the money will be spent.
“This may be the biggest gift ever made in Orlando,” said Mark Brewer, president and CEO of the Central Florida Foundation, the nonprofit institution partnering with Russell to set up the fund and decide how to use it. “The reality is, this opens the door to do some really amazing things here.”
Russell, who became the world’s youngest self-made billionaire when his Luminar Technologies (LAZR) went public last year, wasn’t available for an interview Tuesday. But he released a statement saying he wanted to make a difference in the community “and beyond.”
“I established Luminar’s [headquarters] in Orlando after seeing its incredible yet underrated potential, specialized talent, community and opportunity to become a premier global technology center,” the statement reads. “I’m glad to be playing a role in realizing that vision.”
As founder and CEO of Luminar, which makes sensors for self-driving cars, Russell divides his time between Orlando and his company’s Silicon Valley offices, but his home is here. He launched the business in California in 2012 after winning a $100,000 fellowship from billionaire tech investor and PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel for his LiDAR concept, or light detection and ranging, using pulsed lasers to measure distance.
At the time, Russell was 17 and studying applied physics at Stanford. He had already attended classes at Beckman Laser Institute at the University of California, Irvine, as a high-school student. His goal, he said then, was to eradicate automobile accidents.
“When this becomes a new, modern, safety technology on vehicles that’s integrated on every vehicle globally produced, that’s when I’d firmly say that we’ve accomplished the goals that we set,” he told Forbes in December 2020.
Though Russell said in that interview he had no immediate plans for Bill Gates-like philanthropy, Brewer said Russell is interested in directing his charitable efforts toward big-picture change, as Gates has aimed to do in matters of global health.
“The work we did on homelessness a few years ago, where we had to change the entire system of how homeless people are identified and how they’re housed first, instead of after they’ve stayed in shelters for a period of time — that’s the kind of systems-level change we do and the kind of change he wants,” Brewer said. “It’s like the opioid work that’s being done here, where you’re trying to figure out how to stop the flow of people who are becoming addicted, rather than just giving them Narcan after they overdose.”
There’s no hint yet whether Russell will focus on those areas or something else entirely. In a region known for its low-wage economy and dire shortage of affordable housing, Brewer said there’s ample opportunity for Russell to make a difference. The entrepreneur will begin meeting with foundation officials by mid-January, and initial grants could be made fairly quickly, Brewer said, though he did not want to be more specific.
Jeff Hayward, president and CEO of the Heart of Florida United Way, said Russell’s move is a welcome one, especially coming from a tech entrepreneur.
“The technology sector has been less than engaging when it comes to philanthropy for critical basic needs, like helping people to keep a roof over their heads,” he said. “I’m very happy to see Mr. Russell join the fray, and I hope he’ll convince some of his peers in the community to join, too.”
Tuesday, Luminar shares traded at $17.10 on the NASDAQ, closing down 69 cents. The company projects that the market for its sensor and software solutions will reach roughly $150 billion by 2030, and it already has partnerships with eight of the world’s top 10 automakers, including a deal with Volvo Cars sealed in June to use Luminar’s technology as standard equipment on its upcoming fully electric flagship vehicle.
The Central Florida Foundation will be tasked with selling the shares overtime to make grants, and Brewer said $70 million is likely to be a starting point.
“This is just the beginning of his long-term personal commitment to philanthropy,” he said
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