Self-Driving Technology Maker Luminar Files Bankruptcy -- Update

Dow Jones12-16

By Andrew Scurria and Chris Wack

Luminar Technologies, which makes sensor technology for self-driving cars, filed for bankruptcy after losing a supply contract with Volvo Cars.

The technology company said it has entered chapter 11 with the support of 91% of its first lien noteholders and 86% of its second lien noteholders to sell its LiDAR business, making scanners that use pulsed lasers to sense distances to nearby targets.

Quantum Computing has separately agreed to acquire another subsidiary, Luminar Semiconductor, in an all-cash transaction valued at $110 million, Quantum said Monday.

To facilitate these transactions, fund the chapter 11 cases and support operations throughout the marketing and sale process, creditors have consented to Luminar's use of $25 million of cash previously pledged as collateral, the company said.

Last month, Luminar said that Volvo terminated a purchase agreement under which the company has provided hardware and software for integration into Volvo's global consumer vehicle platform. Luminar made a claim against Volvo for damages, which it cautioned it might not be able to collect.

Austin Russell founded Luminar in 2012 at age 17, when he left Stanford University and accepted a fellowship from the foundation of entrepreneur and venture capitalist Peter Thiel to develop the company. When Luminary went public in 2020 after getting acquired by a special-purpose acquisition company, Russell became a 25-year old billionaire.

Russell resigned as CEO in May following a conduct and ethics inquiry by the audit committee of Luminar's board, the company said at the time.

The case was filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Houston.

Write to Andrew Scurria at Andrew.Scurria@wsj.com and Chris Wack at chris.wack@wsj.com

 

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 15, 2025 18:45 ET (23:45 GMT)

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