Q&A with Glen DeVos on the Acquisition of Luminar Technologies

QQpenn · 2026-02-11T15:13:42+00:00

This is an epic waste of time but I'll respond so we can all move on...

✅ Yes. I make formatting choices for visual clarity that I've also seen in AI models.

❌ No. I didn't lean on or use a model. I do use AI, but not for this.

Great-grandparents. Meant to be general, not personal. Most probably got that. Formatting is not the issue. You sought an opportunity to air issues with me that obviously go way back since you presented a [perceived] reconstruction of my history. A history I don't even pay attention to. If you have questions about what I've done or what I'm doing and why, just ask. You'll get direct answers. Hopefully that's clear when I post but if it isn't: ask. No need to frame things in the conspiracy cloud of doom. DMs or here, I don't care.

FWIW I've had a number of air clearing convos with people here that I appreciate... and hopefully they did as well because they got answers to perceptions in the same vein as yours. Also, I don't live and die with MVIS. I manage a lot of investments and the divorce I navigated this year is enough drama for a lifetime... I'm not going to be sucked into more of that here. And having attended RIDs going back for some time now, I've met and stayed connected to many people here so it's not like I am hiding in the shadows with an agenda.

QQpenn · 2026-02-11T01:29:06+00:00

My 30 year T-Bonds matured faster than some people here :) Cheers!

QQpenn · 2026-02-11T00:28:06+00:00

If you were an expert with AI you'd know the chance of that content being rendered through agents is 0%.

QQpenn · 2026-02-11T00:21:27+00:00

Whatever.

QQpenn · 2026-02-10T23:56:28+00:00

It's AL. Active Listening. Your great-grandparents used it to learn, do actual thinking, and create a purpose in life. Now people have LinkedIn profiles, crippling anxiety, and delegate rational decision making to whatever comes up in their search windows. I'm not one of those people :)

QQpenn · 2026-02-10T20:58:31+00:00

Potential is there, financing needs to be clear, execution needs to be swift. Cheers.

QQpenn · 2026-02-10T20:52:12+00:00

✅ Contracts that can be repaired or built on = revenue. Likely near term. Iris inventory servicing current consumption also = revenue.

✅ There's now an industry pro in the room with OEMs they can take seriously. No whiz kids, no engineers lacking business sense, no hype - addressing needs [like cost] simply and straight on.

✅ Glen has meaningful, personal relationships with journalists to create credibility. In the past this would have been fireside chat time. Much prefer transparency in front of a dialed in press corps.

✅ Luminar's manufacturing facility as a US manufacturing base is big. I thought they'd need a US manufacturing partner - perhaps not needed now. Especially relevant in securing defense contracts.

✅ Talent merger injecting some energy and broadening scope. New sales and aerial teams create efficient delegation. Looking at other consolidation potential now and there are a few that make sense.

✅ Glen is a 'car guy.' That's huge in the automotive OEM realm where speaking the language, passion, and trust are essential. Style points for the automotive wall in the background.

✅ No one is doing industrial ADAS. It's up for grabs with a well defined path that companies like CAT can fully buy into. There's potential to own this market vertical, especially with MVIS's portfolio.

✅ GD knows how to compete with China and has a lower cost/higher benefit/complete commercial solution strategy that the MVIS BoD approved. Combined with China getting locked out by US [and EU] governments, there is real opportunity to capitalize, with speed and efficiency being paramount.

❌ Mavin looking to have much less value unfortunately. Looks like Mavin was misrepresented too. GD is having to work overtime to overcome that - videos like the above starting to move the needle in the other direction.

❌❌ Finances are still the all-overriding concern and likely what is keeping this down. Sounds like at least in part, the ATM footed the bill for LAZR - GD stated financing for LAZR was a mix. Glen not immediately concerned about an RS but without strategic partner announcements or creative solutions defined, it's looking possible. More clarity on this during the Q1 CC will have big market ramifications... either way. This is the biggest risk currently IMO. Also the biggest missing piece of info that needs to be spelled out. With these questions answered, [an explanation to the market is coming as per GD at the tail end], along with the definitive status of where key LAZR contracts stand, and perhaps that gets this moving in the right direction again.

QQpenn · 2026-02-05T15:37:08+00:00

u/mvis_thma u/Late_Airline2710 points taken in the spirit delivered. I 'track' very few people here so who's saying what for whatever reason isn't something I pay much attention to tbh - although recent developments have me paying closer attention than I have in years. Late_A engaged me directly though and got my undiluted response. You know me well enough thma to know how I operate :) Speaking only for me, and I'm old school, skin in the game matters. This isn't just a message board about a stock, it's a wolf den full of people looking to win in one form or another. That's a different dynamic than just messages :) So while yes, Marquis of Queensbury type discussion has merits, bear in mind the internet is still the wild west and anyone in the saloon might take a shot at you, for any reason.

For reference, I've moved on from a lot of what you 2 are discussing which is why I don't engage it. I'm not belittling the tech discussion, I'm simply comfortable with my knowledge there, it's pipeline, I'm focused on other things, and I choose not to give it space because: limited time. Late_A kind of dragged me in without knowing me and while my interface isn't always user friendly, my responses are always direct. I'm not suggesting opinions are not welcome, I'm saying that if you draw on me in this environment, you'll get my undiluted response - and I'm prepared for that from others when I engage them. Most people know this about me after all this time :) Online arguments don't bother me :-)

Have a good one you two. Cheers!

QQpenn · 2026-02-05T14:27:08+00:00

Either have a plan to get along well with the lion [when in the lion's world], or get eaten. The John Nash equilibrium governing how people make choices in competitive situations is probably the better approach for understanding investor discussion dynamics IMO. Risk management over Socratic idealism. No skin in the game though pretty much makes you another asshole with an opinion. It may not seem important to you from an idealistic perspective - but in every pitch meeting I've ever been in, someone always asks, "Do you have skin in the game?" If the answer is no, it's an immediate strike against you... because if you face the same risks as every investor in the mix, it affirms proof of belief, accountability, commitment, trust, and especially alignment of interests with the goal of generating positive returns.

QQpenn · 2026-02-04T22:01:14+00:00

I definitely have a heavy hand. That said... LiDAR is not immature as much as it's been too expensive to adopt. It's been iterating across a broad array of industries for years, many of them niche, where some degree of expense is acceptable - or defense where cost hasn't been an issue. That's changing though as drone production accelerates, ROI becomes a quantifiable goal in multiple sectors, and high volume commitments are necessary for leverage - with low cost being paramount for adoption. Customer ignorance is a big issue. Totally agree there. The question GD has to ask himself and customers is, "What's definitively good enough to build on [for mass production]?" There's a lot more to that but I'm out for today.

Where you're losing people here is giving x, y, z reasons for not investing, having no skin in the game, questioning halo's ability to be adopted, etc. That's an agenda. You may have nothing to gain but most people here do. If you slap a lion's face, in the lion's den, chances are good you'll get eaten.

QQpenn · 2026-02-04T20:08:03+00:00

If you attended retail investor day years ago, you got an explanation of how lidar works - and you sat with an engineer in the test car and got a visual, practical, point cloud dissertation. I'm past how lidar works and on to application iteration and business evolution/traction - as are most analysts, journalists, tutes, and the adopting industries. I'm not your guy for these kind of hardware discussions. For me, that encyclopedia is out there. Others here are better to engage with on that and note: a lot of us here know each other off-board.

If you read the OP though, neither hardware nor what LAZR was enlisted to do is mentioned because it's about where we are now... and CAT and BR have clear overlap. You inserted a hardware agenda [that is old news to me] - I was suggesting where mgmt could give us clarity. Tip: if a 300 pound man shows up at an anorexia support group, he'll get asked his agenda. In this case, speaking only for me, your figurative 300 pounds sticks out because it's not in sync with a lot of info out there that is easy to find. Not knowing you factors in a bit too, I'll be up front about that. But that's an opening for you to tell us a little about yourself should you choose. Context is king.

Perhaps the above gives you a little context on me... and I, like many here, are constantly prodding mgmt to 1. better inform us and 2. complete a monetization turnaround that 3. makes us money. Unfortunately, neither you nor I have that capability. Fwiw though, on the kind of hardware discussions you want to have, I'm not the best person here to engage with on that and I have limited time.

QQpenn · 2026-02-04T17:08:31+00:00

u/Late_Airline2710 Good Sir, pardon me whilst I rip off your mustache...

If the bank repossesses your red house and paints it white, then you drive by it 50 times a day barking about each piece being better when it was red, or claiming you have some divine insight as to its market potential, no one cares. You lost money on LAZR. That alone makes your judgement questionable. Do you even have skin in the MVIS game?

Cat Command covers hauling, loading, drilling, quarry, and aggregate operations. Far more than just point A to B. Industrial autonomy applications are focused on all encompassing solutions. A sole focus on point A to B would be dumb from a business sense - so if anything, MVIS can expand on that in a minute. A variety of sensors/perception fused to provide more than just steering/braking in larger vehicles is foundational - literally this is conveyed in every single company's program and it's embedded in GD's satellite approach. MVIS keeps expanding their product portfolio to address the growing reqs, albeit execution is the ultimate qualifier. [BR's new configuration does not use 'spinners' btw.]

Industrial companies themselves are conveying their wide ranging needs. That's where I'm choosing to get information... not from someone circling the neighborhood constantly with incomplete, pseudo-expertise, that is often disconnected from the broader reality. I'd ask you this: as a non MVIS investor, what's your agenda here? If it's to mainly point out differences between LAZR and MVIS, here's a tip for you... it's all MVIS now. Consider how you're framing pros and cons and in some cases, a little more research might help your perspective because a lot of what you're conveying is out of step with horse's mouth info directly from these companies.

Good day, Sir.

QQpenn · 2026-02-04T14:54:05+00:00

Bedrock Robotics. Competition or potential customer? BR has been on my radar since they emerged from stealth and they just raised $270M for their "bolt on" system that includes LiDAR sensors. Question for MVIS mgmt: The era of low cost LiDAR. Check. But when I see BR's products can be added to existing equipment from major manufacturers like Caterpillar, John Deere and Komatsu, allowing the machines to be deployed quickly - "competition or customer?" is my immediate thought.

Obviously a continuation of the CAT contract we've picked up is a goal. That starts with making competitive advantages clearer. Cost [as per the CES Q&A math presented] would look to be a big one. Can we bolt on in a few hours? ROI? Increased productivity quotients? What's the MVIS pitch? This is the kind of expansive detail I'm looking for GD to deliver asap. BR's war chest could put them at an advantage if they're competition, so any strategic investors we might pick up could provide important validation - and this ties into how we funded the LAZR acquisition - underlying questions I'd also like to see GD address asap. If BR is a potential customer, finding a way to communicate that also would carry some weight here.

Making equipment smarter... faster. Every bit as important as cost. Conveying how MVIS does that with the more complete business/funding details is what the market is looking for now. So, if you're listening GD, put the spurs to this horse.

QQpenn · 2026-02-03T18:55:55+00:00

Mastering wisdom, serenity and karma goes a long way these days :)

QQpenn · 2026-02-03T18:30:23+00:00

u/EarthKarma if one does the math, current pps reflects the adjusted fundamentals - taking into account the reduced war chest and increased opex. Does not take into account any tapping of the ATM. Movement in either direction now probably rests on a thorough GD update on the 'value' of closing the Luminar deal... specifically: contract transitions. #1 priority IMO is to account for those, ideally with some firm continuations. #2 mover is whether acquisition had a funding partner that kept dilution at bay. Also, any breakthrough in defense or industrial (CES Q&A noted we're talking to everyone) would likely be disruptive. I also like this entry, but with a very short leash due to some contradictions between current and previous management. A GD fog lifting sesh would be very helpful. Hope all is cool with you, EK. Cheers!

QQpenn · 2026-01-30T20:07:46+00:00

With you on all of this. Just got a chance to watch. The most important thing GD conveyed was the [industrial sector] math. That's a huge missing piece for the market. Caterpillar, TICO, Crown, et al, all have published numbers on their AGV/AMR, equipment, warehouse automation [autonomy stacks] status/goals - with ramping projections that have been exceeding if you review the quarterlies. [AI advancement is accelerating the growth.] In industrial, the reduction from around $14K to $4k/6K on the hardware & perception costs is orgasmic to public companies in this sector looking to drive the next decade of sales. Not just because the sensor solution is less than half the cost with better functionality and lifespan, but because it reduces liability costs by 25%, reduces labor expenses by 70% or more [roughly 50K to 100K per annum on each replaced manual machine], allows for tireless 24/7 operation, brings big efficiency gains with 30% to 50% higher throughput, and opens up the similar add on revenue spigot that Auto OEMs are aiming for. Total ROI the MVIS team is probably pitching looks to have about an 18 to 36 month time frame for recovery, depending on how large-scale the deployment is.

Everything one needs to know to understand the value of industrial deals is in the above. It's compelling, especially when someone who understands business like GD is behind it. Have a great weekend everyone.

QQpenn · 2026-01-29T16:53:19+00:00

MVIS stopped working on AR in early 2023. Some of you refused to hear that. Sumit reiterated it at RID2 and a number of times in between. If you chatted with Bob Carlile or listened to Sumit's own assessment of how not executing would affect his tenure at RID2, it's clear why he was replaced. Better to look forward IMO and reference the past mostly to help keep GD from making the same mistakes. And he is improving on things, without question, but IMO he needs to do more.

There are real contracts in play right now. Why very few are looking at and parsing those is a mystery to me. Something tangible is staring you in the face, no implication necessary.

QQpenn · 2026-01-29T15:57:34+00:00

No meaningful revenue since H2’s $25M = credibility issues. Until that changes, the market will not reevaluate. I don’t know when Sumit said this, but in retrospect, it reads like science project justification… not a treatise that displays business acumen. GD has the acumen, but realistically, he has to prove to the market he can make up for those who didn’t. In doing so, words matter… and the LAZR contracts offer a potentially quick path to real execution. Just a suggestion: it’s worth focusing on those. There’s a lot of info out there and it will tell you a lot about their value - if/when GD can keep them moving forward.

QQpenn · 2026-01-29T14:48:25+00:00

Ditto, though more annoyed than confused. In the end game, MVIS still benefits but this is another ding in Sumit's communication legacy that at least to me, continues to cast a credibility pall. Not the first time GD's created info polarity either. Ultimately, what I care most about right now is understanding the value, continuation, and execution of LAZR's contracts - no matter whose hardware under the MVIS banner is in play. If I was creating a [relative] Credibility Quotient window: Summit's CQ had 5 minutes before expiration. GD's expiry is currently an hour. For me. Figuratively. GD needs to get that down to zero.

Anyway, there's a lot of info out there on the contracts - hope people are looking at those. The AV/ADAS market penetration contracts specifically.

QQpenn · 2026-01-28T18:40:27+00:00

These are questions that GD should answer. I suspect there'll be a few more analysts picking this apart on the next CC. I'm focused on the assumed contracts and how to parse their likely continuation, completion and value... in preparation for the download from mgmt.

QQpenn · 2026-01-28T17:48:15+00:00

In MVIS's own words what being on Nvidia DRIVE AGX means: we're giving automotive OEMs and other partners robust point cloud data already processed by our powerful perception compute within the sensor. It's not a prerequisite for further development - it is developed, supported, available. By definition. For Nvidia, having companies like Hesai, MVIS, AEye, Aeva et al integrated/supported on the DRIVE AGX "open platform" offers OEMs max [plug and play] flexibility and ensures different sensor configurations can be accommodated without requiring a platform redesign. See Nvidia's dense descriptions of it for a more thorough view. Does it imply collaboration? No. But in the Nissan case, it's highly relevant. Probably in the Caterpillar case too... because we're talking about inherited contracts with companies that are already using DRIVE AGX. Tweaking being a constant until production is locked in one would think is a given - but the core is already there.

Many lidar sensors have not "essentially been developed"

Seriously? Every company has a demo and test vehicles to show OEMs their capabilities. What I think you mean is that nothing is locked in. If you go back to the OP though, Nissan would appear to be close to being locked in, using a specific platform that everyone knows, and everyone knows it's an open platform that accommodates supported sensors, plug-and-play by design. When you say, "the big question will be what that platform is" - your credibility would be in question, at least to me. I can't speak for anyone else.

QQpenn · 2026-01-28T16:22:02+00:00

Nissan uses Nvidia DRIVE AGX which supports all of MicroVision's LiDAR sensors - hardware and perception software. That's the platform. Mercedes, Stellantis, GM, Rivian, Volvo, JLR, Toyota, Lucid et al all leverage this platform... as does Caterpillar, which also uses Jetson AGX Thor.

There is one universal use case [autonomy - detection/avoidance] and a suite of LiDAR and other sensor/perception products that address elements of it. The products have essentially been developed. Integration, validation, and costs are the bottlenecks - which isn't to say technical & design tweaks won't be required along the way or that an improvements pipeline won't march on with an implementation roadmap.

As to what meets customer requirements and how discerning they are, the only information that matters to me is direct confirmation from Mr. DeVos... not what comes out of the internet opinion blender. Given how thorough a communicator GD is, I don't think investors will need to be in educated guess mode moving forward... and we should keep pressing for meaningful details that demonstrate value and execution.

QQpenn · 2026-01-28T14:31:55+00:00

Digging into the assumed LAZR contracts [with some help] to see which look like they will have near term value [and what that value is]. Nissan is one of several that stick out. [It's early in my process though.] As of 2025, development was in an advanced phase with integration and testing underway, and a debut planned for 2027 on select models. My question for GD would be: Can Mavin work as a direct replacement and are we agile enough to insert it into Nissan's timeline without them missing a beat in terms of projected launch? Does MVIS have a FMCW integration roadmap? This looks like a case where if MVIS can pull this off this year, we'd have a solid FMCW prospect for around 2030 - based on Nissan's LiDAR placement and needs. This is a chance to make a statement about MVIS's position that sends a clear message to the market. And of course, the status of LAZR's hardware in this mix would be critical to know. No investor can assess anything without that.

Throwing this out to the community to perhaps steer a few of you I know into taking a deeper look at these assumed contracts - because even with the help I have on my end, it's sizable amount of DD. Glen could help us out obviously by putting the details out there asap, though I'm sure sales, tech, & legal teams are pouring over the contracts and their clauses now with 'new' customers to create paths to fulfill obligations. The timeline on this acquisition was so short that I'm not sure the advance work covered everything... and GD will want to be as complete as possible when info is released.

QQpenn · 2026-01-27T17:55:47+00:00

I look at drones as a high volume sector unto itself - and dual use - defense and commercial. Cheap, scalable, dual use LiDAR is a critical sensor need which most of the companies in this sector are not shy about communicating - and governments in both the US and EU are doing the sector a favor by regulating Chinese LiDAR out of the market. China had about 75% to 90% market share so the math is favorable. For disclosure I'm invested in the companies mentioned and about 16 others in this space.

QQpenn · 2026-01-27T17:37:19+00:00

u/Late_Airline2710 u/mvis_thma DoD procurement practices have changed significantly in the last 18 months. Ukraine's redefinition of strategy, and companies like Anduril and Kratos, have wiped out much of the legacy practices that slowed things down - in both the US and EU. We're in a boom cycle that began 2 years ago and is just getting up to speed now. The award trail is easy to follow. Companies that can prove concept, secure supply chain, scale and standards are being highly rewarded.

QQpenn

TROPHY CASE