Decoder with Nilay Patel Meet Austin Russell, the 25-year-old billionaire building the future of self-driving cars
Mar 2, 2021
Austin Russell, founder and CEO of Luminar, is revolutionizing the self-driving car industry with his groundbreaking LiDAR technology. He shares insights on why LiDAR is crucial for the future of autonomy and discusses the challenges he faces in making it scalable and affordable. Austin challenges conventional methodologies in automotive design, predicting a world without steering wheels by 2030. He emphasizes the importance of safety and regulatory acceptance while navigating his journey as a young billionaire in the tech landscape.
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Act Two
- Austin Russell's next step after receiving the Thiel Fellowship was to accelerate his existing projects.
- He prioritized learning from successful entrepreneurs in the fellowship's network.
Early Hiring
- Hire people with deep domain expertise in key areas.
- Russell initially hired a co-founder, Jason Eichenholz, and later his uncle, an electrical engineer.
Scaling Manufacturing
- Shifting from technology development to scalable automotive-grade production is crucial.
- Luminar focuses on manufacturing processes and leverages contract manufacturers for final assembly.