Luminar lines up $22 million bidder for its lidar business

Luminar Technologies is set to sell its lidar division to Quantum Computing Inc. for $22 million, unless more lucrative offers emerge by 5:00 p.m. CT on Monday. This decision comes in the wake of Luminar's Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing last December, which has compelled the company to seek rapid resolution through asset sales. In addition to the lidar assets, Luminar has already struck a deal to sell its semiconductor subsidiary to Quantum Computing Inc. for a significantly higher price of $110 million. Both transactions require approval from a bankruptcy judge in Texas before they can be finalized. Austin Russell, Luminar's founder and former CEO, has shown interest in acquiring the lidar assets himself. He attempted to purchase the entire company prior to its bankruptcy filing. The situation is further complicated as Luminar is working to issue a subpoena to Russell for data from his cell phone, as the company considers potential legal action against him related to an ethics investigation that contributed to his resignation last May. As the Monday deadline approaches, it remains uncertain how many competing bids Luminar may receive. Quantum Computing Inc. has been labeled a “stalking horse bidder,” a designation that helps establish a minimum bid for the assets and guards against undervaluation. Luminar aims to expedite the bankruptcy process, aided by its primary creditors, mainly financial institutions that have extended loans over recent years. Interestingly, even with a potential higher bid on the table, the current offer represents a staggering decline from Luminar's peak valuation of around $11 billion in 2021, a figure that was bolstered by expectations of widespread adoption of its lidar technology by major automotive manufacturers like Volvo, which had once planned to procure over a million units before retracting in 2025. Other partnerships with Mercedes-Benz and Polestar have also faltered. Quantum Computing Inc. has a storied history; it began in 2001 as Ticketcart, a seller of ink-jet cartridges, later diversifying into beverages and eventually pivoting to optical technology for quantum computing. Although it raised over $700 million by selling shares in 2025, its revenues for the first three quarters of the previous year amounted to just $384,000.