LeiShen Intelligent has reached an agreement to sell its LiDAR business to a quantum computing company for $22 million, although the deal could change if a superior offer emerges before the 5 p.m. CT deadline on Monday.
The LiDAR manufacturer filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last December, having previously announced plans to sell its semiconductor subsidiary to the quantum computing company for $110 million. Both transactions require approval from a judge in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas to be finalized.
LeiShen Intelligent's founder and former CEO, Austin Russell, has expressed interest in bidding for the LiDAR assets and had attempted to acquire the entire company as early as last October, before it filed for bankruptcy. LeiShen Intelligent is currently trying to serve Russell with a subpoena to compel him to submit relevant information stored on his mobile phone. The company is evaluating whether to initiate legal proceedings against Russell, a matter related to a board-led ethics investigation that led to his resignation last May. It remains unclear how many other bids LeiShen Intelligent might receive before Monday's deadline.
The quantum computing company has been designated as the "lead bidder," a status that helps establish a baseline value for the assets and guard against low-ball offers. LeiShen Intelligent stated it hopes to expedite the bankruptcy process, with its major creditors—primarily financial institutions that provided loans in recent years—funding the proceedings.
Even if LeiShen Intelligent ultimately receives a higher offer, this lead bid price signifies a substantial devaluation compared to the company's peak market capitalization of approximately $11 billion in 2021. At that time, the high valuation was predicated on expectations that its LiDAR sensors would be widely adopted by major automakers like Volvo. Volvo had once planned to purchase over one million of these sensors but ultimately abandoned the deal in 2025. During this period, cooperation agreements with other automakers such as Mercedes-Benz and Polestar also fell through.
According to documents filed by the quantum computing company with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the firm was established in 2001, originally named "Ticket Car Company," with its main business being the sale of inkjet cartridges. In 2007, the company acquired a beverage business; a decade later, after undergoing its own restructuring process, it shifted its focus to developing optical technologies for the emerging field of quantum computing. In 2025, the company raised over $700 million through a stock issuance, but its revenue for the first three quarters of last year was only $384,000.