Luminar Lines Up $22 Million Bidder For its Lidar Business
Luminar lidar sale attracts $22M bid amid bankruptcy—how the once-$11B tech darling collapsed so fast.
Matilda
Luminar Lines Up $22 Million Bidder For its Lidar Business
Luminar Lidar Sale: What’s Happening and Why It Matters Luminar Technologies, once hailed as a pioneer in autonomous vehicle sensing, is selling its core lidar business for just $22 million—a fraction of its former self. The buyer? Quantum Computing Inc., a company better known for ink-jet cartridges than cutting-edge sensors. With a court-imposed deadline of 5:00 p.m. CT on Monday, January 13, 2026, other bidders—including founder Austin Russell—could still step in. But unless a miracle offer arrives, this marks the end of an era for one of Silicon Valley’s most hyped automotive tech startups. Credit: Luminar From $11 Billion to $22 Million: A Tech Tragedy Unfolds At its peak in 2021, Luminar boasted a market capitalization near $11 billion, fueled by promises that its lidar sensors would become standard equipment in next-gen cars from Volvo, Mercedes-Benz, and Polestar. Fast forward to 2026, and those partnerships have evaporated. Volvo walked away from a deal to buy over 1 million unit…