When Luminar Technologies Inc. put down roots in Orlando a decade ago, the company’s leadership was betting that a tech firm partially based in Central Florida could go “toe-to-toe” with companies built entirely in Silicon Valley, founder and CEO Austin Russell told Orlando Inno.
So far, the autonomous vehicle sensor firm’s bet has paid off.
Last year, the firm’s first full year as a publicly-traded company, was a big one for Orlando-based Luminar (Nasdaq: LAZR). It doubled its workforce and surpassed the 400-employee mark in Orlando. Plus, Russell made a $70 million contribution to local nonprofit the Central Florida Foundation to reinvest in the Orlando community.
Meanwhile, Luminar’s growth is having a “snowball effect” in Orlando, setting up the region’s technology sector for more growth, Russell said. Luminar not only is creating new jobs, but it's also bringing a wide range of high-level tech to Central Florida.
Orlando plays a critical role for Luminar. Not only does the city act at the company’s headquarters, but Luminar is developing the manufacturing process for its Iris sensors at its local facility. The process and institutional knowledge developed from the production line in Central Florida will be replicated by Luminar's manufacturing partners around the world to scale up production of the sensors.
That’s why most of Luminar’s 750 employees are in Orlando. It’s also part of the reason Luminar likely will create more jobs in Orlando this year, as the company lists up to 45 open positions based here on its website.
Russell, a California native who owns property there along with his home in Central Florida, said executives saw the potential of Orlando as a high-tech hub years ago. Luminar’s success so far may be rubbing off on the region and helping it get closer to achieving that status, he added.
“We've really been bringing the best of the best from around the world into Orlando to be able to help continue to drive forward greater growth for amazing, A-plus talent. At the same time, all of those people also then will help contribute to the local economy, local causes, a little bit of everything.”
The ever-improving local talent pool, along with a business-friendly environment, are reasons Russell said he’s convinced Orlando can become a renowned technology hub on a local and global scale. However, he cautioned against comparing Orlando to other cities as if it’s “a race." Instead, he advocated for comparing Orlando’s tech sector against its own potential.
The growth of companies in the high-wage technology sector is critical for the local economy. They can help diversify and strengthen metro Orlando’s hospitality-dominated economy, which ranked a lowly 366 out of 501 metros on a list of most diverse U.S. cities compiled last year by WalletHub.
These companies also create high-wage jobs, important in a region with some of the lowest average wages in the nation. Consider: The average local tech wage of $89,000 is much higher than metro Orlando's overall average annual wage of $48,530, according to CBRE Group Inc. (NYSE: CBRE) and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Other founders in the region see Orlando making slow but steady progress toward forming a new image as a major tech city.
For example, Kristen Wiley, founder and CEO of Orlando-based influencer marketing startup Statusphere Inc., recently told Orlando Inno the region has “a long way to go,” but it has gained more credibility in the eyes of West Coast startup investors in the last two years. In fact, Wiley said some investors used to cut her off mid-pitch when they learned her company was based in Florida. Now, most of Statusphere’s investors are from the San Francisco Bay area.
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