Luminar received an even higher bid for its lidar business as a court-run auction concluded on Monday, according to a new filing in the company’s bankruptcy case. MicroVision, a Redmond, Washington-based company that develops lidar sensors, submitted a $33 million bid. This eclipsed the $22 million laid out a few weeks ago by Quantum Computing Inc. as the so-called “stalking horse” bidder. Quantum Computing Inc. had increased its bid to $28 million but was apparently unwilling or unable to go higher.
In a statement on Tuesday, MicroVision said it is acquiring intellectual property and inventory related to the Iris and Halo lidar sensors, key engineering and operations talent, and certain commercial contracts and orders. MicroVision CEO Glen DeVos stated that the lidar market has been ripe for disruption and in need of further consolidation. He expressed that with proven leadership in automotive, a history in defense products, and an expanded portfolio of sensors and solutions, MicroVision is ready to upend the industry to enable wider commercial adoption and increased safety.
The sale of Luminar’s lidar business will now be subject to approval by the judge in the bankruptcy case, with a hearing slated for Tuesday afternoon. It is not clear if Luminar founder and former CEO Austin Russell submitted a bid for his company’s lidar assets. Russell, through his new venture Russell AI Labs, had tried to buy the company outright in October 2025 before it filed for bankruptcy and had expressed interest in bidding during the process. Representatives for Russell did not respond to a request for comment.
Russell and Luminar spent the first month of the bankruptcy case fighting over a subpoena. The company is still evaluating whether to take legal action against Russell, tied to his resignation last May which followed a board-run ethics inquiry. While Russell turned over his computers to Luminar, he had been holding onto his phone until he received a guarantee that any personal information on it would be protected. Luminar had accused him of dodging the subpoena.
Russell ultimately agreed to accept the subpoena last week. Over the weekend, he and Luminar made a joint filing in court laying out the terms of a protective order regarding his personal information.
If the sale of the lidar assets goes through, it could bring about a fairly swift end to Luminar’s bankruptcy case, which was filed in December. The company has already reached an agreement to sell its other business division, centered around semiconductors, to Quantum Computing Inc. for $110 million.