Luminar bids $22 million for its lidar business

Luminar has I reached an agreement to sell its lidar business to a company called Quantum Computing Inc. For just $22 million, unless it receives better offers by the 5:00 PM Central time deadline on Monday.

The lidar maker, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in December, announced plans to sell its semiconductor business to Quantum Computing Inc. For $110 million. The deals must be approved by a bankruptcy judge in the Southern District of Texas before they can be finalized.

Luminar founder and former CEO Austin Russell expressed interest in bidding for the lidar assets and attempted to buy the entire company in October, before it filed for bankruptcy. The company is currently trying to Serve it with a subpoena For information stored on his cell phone, Luminar is evaluating whether to file any legal claims against him in connection with the board’s ethics investigation that led to his resignation last May. It is unknown how many more offers Luminar may receive by Monday’s deadline.

Quantum Computing Inc. is rated It is called a “chasing bid”, which helps establish a baseline for the value of the asset and helps prevent underbids. Luminar said it wants to move forward with the bankruptcy case quickly, with its largest creditors — mostly financial institutions that have lent the company money over the past few years — helping to finance the proceedings.

Even if Luminar receives a higher offer, the stalking horse’s bid represents a massive reduction from the company’s bid Peak market value In 2021, its value reached about $11 billion. This assessment was supported by the promise that Luminar’s lidar sensors would become widely adopted by major automakers like Volvo, which at one point planned to purchase more than a million of them before finally calling it quits. Exit the deal in 2025. Other deals with Mercedes-Benz and Polestar collapsed along the way as well.

Quantum Computing Inc. was founded. In 2001 as a company called Ticketcart that sells inkjet cartridges, According to her files With the Securities and Exchange Commission. It bought a beverage company in 2007, underwent its own restructuring ten years later, and focused on making optical technology for the emerging world of quantum computing. The company has raised more than $700 million By selling shares in 2025Although its revenues for the first nine months of last year amounted to only $384,000.