Lidar-maker Luminar files for bankruptcy

Lidar technology company Luminar has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after months of layoffs, executive exits, and an ongoing legal dispute with its largest customer, Volvo.

As part of the restructuring, Luminar plans to sell off its lidar business during the bankruptcy process and has already reached an agreement to divest its semiconductor unit. The company will continue operating throughout the proceedings to “minimize disruptions” for suppliers and customers, but Luminar will ultimately wind down once the process is complete.

“After a comprehensive review of our alternatives, the board determined that a court-supervised sale process is the best path forward,” CEO Paul Ricci said in a statement. “As we navigate this process, our top priority is to continue delivering the same quality, reliability and service our customers have come to expect from us.”

The bankruptcy filing, submitted Monday morning in the Southern District of Texas, caps a turbulent period for a company once valued at more than $3 billion after its 2020 reverse merger.

Luminar’s founder, Austin Russell, resigned as CEO in May following a “code of business conduct and ethics inquiry,” though he remained on the board. In October, he launched Russell AI Labs and made a full bid to acquire Luminar.

A spokesperson for Russell AI Labs told TechCrunch that Russell still intends to bid for Luminar’s assets through the bankruptcy proceedings.

“Over the past three months — at the invitation of certain key stakeholders including Luminar board members — Russell AI Labs, in partnership with a large technology company, engaged with Luminar on a proposal to provide a landing pad for the company and preserve and create shareholder value. Unfortunately they went in a different direction, as evidenced by today’s events,” the spokesperson said.

“It has been challenging for Mr. Russell to watch from the sidelines, and Russell AI Labs believes we can create tremendous value with Luminar’s technology platform, restore key customer relationships, progress the mission to save millions of lives, and build the business stronger than ever,” they added.

Meanwhile, Luminar laid off 25% of its workforce — its second round of cuts this year. The company’s chief financial officer departed, it defaulted on multiple loans, and the SEC opened an investigation. Luminar also faced an eviction lawsuit at one office in October and exited another lease in November.

Another major setback came when Volvo, once Luminar’s largest customer and an early supporter, terminated a five-year contract in November. Luminar has taken legal action against Volvo over the cancellation, but the company is also facing a separate legal claim from the contract manufacturer that produces its lidar sensors.

Bankruptcy filings list Luminar as holding between $100 million and $500 million in assets and between $500 million and $1 billion in liabilities. Among its debts is $10 million owed to Scale AI for data labelling services and over $1 1 owed to the AI software firm Applied Intuition.

This story has been updated to include a statement from Russell AI Labs.