What We Do

Austin Russell is a prolific American innovator and serial entrepreneur, starting from his first patent at age 12 and first company at 17. 

He is the founder of Luminar Technologies, creating the business after winning a Thiel Fellowship and leaving Stanford to develop advanced laser, semiconductor, and AI software technologies and bring them to market. Under his visionary leadership, Luminar became the leading global provider of automotive LiDAR and associated software, working with over 50 commercial partners and top tier brands such as Volvo, NVIDIA, Caterpillar, and Nissan. The company became public in 2020. 

Russell has been recognized from publications ranging from MIT Technology Review’s Innovators Under 35 to the Philanthropy 50 as a top charity donor globally. He continues to be an influential figure in the fields of photonics, artificial intelligence, mobility, entrepreneurship, and finance.

Murtaza Ahmed brings two decades of experience as a senior dealmaker, investor, and adviser on globally complex businesses in advanced technology and emerging markets verticals.

He began his career at Deutsche Bank, before rapidly rising to become Managing Director at Goldman Sachs in 2015. He was subsequently recruited by Softbank to directly oversee its $5B Latin American Fund and as Partner in its historic $100B Vision Fund.

Most recently, he founded his own platform Chiltern Street Capital prior to co-founding Russell AI Labs. He remains passionate for charitable endeavors, having served as a board member at EMPower for over a decade to champion youth empowerment in emerging markets.

Markus Schaefer is Member of the Board of Management of Mercedes-Benz Group AG and Chief Technology Officer, Development & Procurement, where he is responsible for the global R&D Engineering of all products and technologies at Mercedes-Benz. In addition, he spearheads procurement for the whole group. Prior to this role, he served as COO of Daimler AG from 2020-2024. Markus also chairs Mercedes-Benz’s Formula 1 team and the Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains Ltd, bridging cutting-edge motorsport innovation into mainstream automotive engineering.

Schaefer is globally recognized for his leadership at the intersection of technology, operations, and strategy – bringing profound expertise in scaling complex global supply chains, driving operational excellence, and aligning engineering innovation with board-level governance and ESG imperatives. During his 30-year tenure with Daimler and Mercedes-Benz, Schaefer led the company’s digital transformation, electrification strategy and transition toward software-defined vehicles. He oversees tens of billions in annual procurement spend, driving supplier resilience through the global semiconductor shortage, and spearheaded the company’s carbon-neutrality roadmap, including supplier sustainability audits.