Luminar Technologies Inc
A maker of LiDAR sensors and software that help self-driving cars and driver-assistance systems "see" their surroundings in 3D, using laser light pulses that can detect objects hundreds of meters away. Founder Austin Russell started the company in 2012 at age 17 while at Stanford, then left school after winning a Thiel Fellowship to build it full-time. Its name comes from the Latin root "lumen," meaning light — a fitting nod to a business built on lasers.