Market cap, or market capitalization, is the total value of a company’s shares of stock. It is calculated by multiplying the number of shares outstanding by the current market price per share.
Market cap is important because it gives investors an idea of how much a company is worth. It can also be used to compare companies of different sizes.
I’ve compiled a list of the top 6 biggest publicly traded lidar companies in the US. All these stocks are listed on the NASDAQ.
Largest LiDAR Companies by Market Capitalization
Luminar Technologies, Inc.
Stock Ticker: LAZR
Market Capitalization: 4.8 billion (as of 4/2022)
Company profile: Luminar Technologies, Inc. is an American multinational corporation specializing in the design and manufacture of lidar systems. It is headquartered in Orlando, Florida and was founded in 2014 by Austin Russell.
In 2018, the company completed a Series B funding round led by Canvas Ventures and G2VP which raised $100 million at a valuation of $1.02 billion. In 2019, the company went public via a SPAC merger with Gores Metropoulos Inc. (NASDAQ: GMHI), raising an additional $3.4 billion and valuating the company at $8.2 billion.
AEye, Inc.
Stock Ticker: LIDR
Market Capitalization: 856 million (as of 4/2022)
Company profile: AEye, Inc. is an American technology company that designs and manufactures lidar systems. It is headquartered in Pleasanton, California and was founded in 2013 by Luis Dussan and Blair LaCorte.
In 2019, the company completed a Series B funding round led by Kleiner Perkins which raised $40 million at a valuation of $200 million.
Aeva Technologies, Inc.
Stock Ticker: AEVA
Market Capitalization: 829 million (as of 4/2022)
Company profile: Aeva Technologies, Inc. is an American technology company that designs and manufactures lidar systems. It was founded in 2016 by Soroush Salehian and Mina Rezk.
In 2019, the company completed a Series B funding round led by SoftBank Vision Fund which raised $250 million at a valuation of $2.1 billion. In 2020, the company went public via a SPAC merger with Athene Holding Ltd. (NYSE: ATH), valuating the company at $8 billion.
Ouster, Inc.
Stock Ticker: OUST
Market Capitalization: 730 million (as of 4/2022)
Company profile: Ouster, Inc. is an American technology company that designs and manufactures lidar systems. It is headquartered in San Francisco, California and was founded in 2015 by Angus Pacala and Joe Simon.
In 2019, the company completed a Series B funding round led by Sequoia Capital which raised $42 million at a valuation of $200 million. In 2020, the company went public via a SPAC merger with Gores Metropoulos Inc. (NASDAQ: GMHI), valuating the company at $2.7 billion.
Microvision, Inc.
Stock Ticker: MVIS
Market Capitalization: 627 million (as of 4/2022)
Company profile: Microvision, Inc. is an American technology company that designs and manufactures lidar systems. It is headquartered in Redmond, Washington and was founded in 1993 by Charles Baum.
In 2019, the company completed a $60 million funding round led by Acorn Campus Ventures which valued the company at $500 million. In 2020, the company was acquired by Lumentum Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: LITE) for $1.1 billion.
Velodyne Lidar, Inc.
Stock Ticker: VLDR
Market Capitalization: 438 million (as of 4/2022)
Company profile: Velodyne Lidar, Inc. is an American technology company that manufactures lidar sensors used in autonomous vehicles. It was founded in 1983 by David Hall and is headquartered in San Jose, California.
In 2016, the company raised $150 million in a Series D funding round led by Ford Motor Company and Baidu. In 2018, Velodyne completed an initial public offering (IPO) on the Nasdaq Stock Market, raising $250 million and valuating the company at $2 billion.
Lidar is a surveying technology that measures distance by illuminating a target with a laser and analyzing the reflected light. The name lidar, now used as an acronym for light detection and ranging (sometimes light imaging, detection, and ranging), was originally a portmanteau of light and radar. Lidar sometimes is called 3D scanning or active sensing.
Lidar operates in much the same way as radar, but instead of using radio waves, it uses pulsed lasers to measure distance. By measuring the time it takes for the laser pulse to bounce back off an object, lidar can determine the distance to that object. Lidar can also be used to create a 3D image of an object or environment. Lidar is in use for many different industries, here is a list of the types of lidar systems used
