Luminar Founder Austin Russell Agrees to Accept Subpoena in Bankruptcy Case
Luminar founder Austin Russell agrees to comply with subpoena in bankruptcy case amid asset sale and legal scrutiny.
Matilda
Luminar Founder Austin Russell Agrees to Accept Subpoena in Bankruptcy Case
Luminar Founder Austin Russell Accepts Subpoena in Bankruptcy Case In a dramatic turn for one of the most high-profile lidar startups of the last decade, Luminar founder and former CEO Austin Russell has agreed to accept an electronic subpoena tied to the company’s ongoing Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings. The move resolves a brief standoff that saw process servers reportedly turned away from Russell’s Florida estate—highlighting growing tensions between the once-celebrated tech wunderkind and the company he built from his teenage garage lab into a publicly traded firm valued at billions. Credit: Getty Images Russell now has seven days to challenge the subpoena or 14 days to comply, according to a court filing dated January 20, 2026. The subpoena specifically seeks data from his phone, which Luminar claims may contain critical information related to its financial collapse and potential legal claims against its founder. Why Is Luminar Seeking Russell’s Phone Data? Luminar’s legal team has …