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Automotive lidar technology company has agreed to a reverse merger with , a special purpose acquisition company, aka SPAC, sponsored by private equity firm , the company announced Monday.

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Once the transaction is complete, Palo Alto, California-based Luminar Technologies will retain its name and will remain listed on Nasdaq under the new ticker symbol LAZR, the company said.

A is a 鈥渂lank check company鈥� that raises money through an initial public offering to buy another company, typically within two years. that as of the beginning of August, more than 50 SPACs were formed in the U.S., raising some $21.5 billion. that many auto tech companies were approached by SPACs as a way to raise more capital than private fundraising could provide.

Founded in 2012 by CEO , Luminar manufactures advanced sensor technologies for the autonomous vehicle industry, both cars and trucks. To date, the company has of $250 million, according to Crunchbase data. The most recent raise was a made a year ago from a group of investors that included and .

The merged company will have a valuation of approximately $2.9 billion and a market capitalization of about $3.4 billion, the company said. Russell will continue to serve as CEO, while will join the Luminar board of directors.

The deal includes $400 million in cash from Gores Metropoulos and $170 million in financing for Luminar from an investor group that includes Gores, , Thiel, , , , and Jill Woodman and .

Luminar also announced that beginning in 2022, its hardware and software will be integrated into Volvo鈥檚 global vehicle platform, and that its technology will also enable a new benchmark for vehicle safety.

鈥淭his milestone is pivotal not just for us, but also for the larger automotive industry,鈥� Russell said in a written statement. 鈥淭oday, we are making our next industry leap through our new long-term partnership with Gores Metropoulos, a team that has deep experience in technology and automotive and shares our vision of a safe autonomous future powered by Luminar.鈥�

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