https://techcrunch.com/2020/08/24/lidar-startup-luminar-to-go-public-via-3-4-billion-spac-merger/ > Luminar, the lidar startup that burst onto the autonomous vehicle scene in April 2017 after operating for years in secrecy, is merging with special-purpose acquisition company Gores Metropoulos Inc., with a post-deal market valuation of $3.4 billion. > Gores Metropoulos, which is listed on the Nasdaq exchange, is a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC sponsored by an affiliate of The Gores Group, the global investment firm founded in the late 1980s by Alec Gores.