MicroVision bids $33M for Luminar’s lidar business

Luminar received a higher bid for its lidar business as a court-run auction concluded on Monday, according to a filing in the company’s bankruptcy case. Redmond, Washington-based MicroVision, which has been developing its own lidar sensors, submitted a $33 million bid for the assets. The bid was announced in a statement released on Tuesday, ahead of a court hearing slated for Tuesday afternoon.

The offer from MicroVision eclipses the bids from Quantum Computing Inc., which had acted as the stalking horse bidder—the initial bidder in a bankruptcy auction that sets the floor price. The financial breakdown of the competing bids includes:

• An initial stalking horse bid of $22 million from Quantum Computing Inc.
• An updated bid of $28 million from Quantum Computing Inc., which the company apparently was unwilling or unable to exceed.
• The winning $33 million bid from MicroVision.

Separately, Luminar is selling its semiconductor division to Quantum Computing Inc. for $110 million.

MicroVision is acquiring intellectual property, inventory, engineering and operations talent, and certain commercial contracts. Glen DeVos, the CEO of MicroVision, framed the acquisition as a strategic consolidation of the industry. “It’s no secret that the lidar market has been ripe for disruption and in need of further consolidation,” DeVos said. He added that the company’s history in automotive and defense markets positions it to expand its portfolio of lidar sensors and perception solutions.

It is not clear whether Luminar founder and former CEO Austin Russell submitted a bid for the lidar assets. Russell, through his new venture Russell AI Labs, tried to buy the company outright in October 2025 before Luminar filed for bankruptcy in December. The bankruptcy case has been marked by legal friction between Luminar and its founder. The company has stated it is evaluating whether to take legal action against Russell tied to his resignation last May, which followed a board-run ethics inquiry. During the proceedings, Luminar also accused Russell of dodging the subpoena regarding his personal devices, though the parties recently filed a joint protective order.

Why it matters

If the sale of the lidar assets goes through, it could bring about a fairly swift end to Luminar’s bankruptcy case, which began when the company filed for bankruptcy in December.