Luminar lines up $22 million bidder for its lidar business

Luminar, a lidar technology company that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in December 2025, has agreed to sell its lidar business to Quantum Computing Inc. for $22 million, subject to higher bids by a deadline on Monday. This sale follows Luminar’s plan to sell its semiconductor subsidiary to the same buyer for $110 million. Both transactions require approval from the bankruptcy court in the Southern District of Texas. Quantum Computing Inc. has been named the “stalking horse bidder,” setting a minimum price to discourage low offers. Luminar aims to expedite the bankruptcy process with support from its largest creditors, primarily financial institutions. The $22 million stalking horse bid marks a dramatic decline from Luminar’s peak valuation of approximately $11 billion in 2021, a period when the company was expected to secure large-scale contracts with automakers like Volvo, Mercedes-Benz, and Polestar—deals that eventually fell through. Austin Russell, Luminar’s founder and former CEO, has shown interest in bidding