Quantum Computing acquires Luminar Semiconductor for $110M
Quantum Computing, Inc. (QUBT) said this week that it has acquired Luminar Semiconductor, Inc. (LSI) a wholly owned subsidiary of Luminar Technologies (LAZR), in an all-cash deal worth $110 million.
The acquisition was made possible because Luminar Technologies has filed for Chapter 11 protection in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas. LSI is not a debtor in the case, but because it is a subsidiary of Luminar Technologies, the deal will need to be approved by the bankruptcy court.
Luminar Technologies makes lidar sensors and advanced technologies for autonomous vehicles, but recently lost a major contract with Volvo, compounding financial problems for the company.
QCI expects the transaction to close in January 2026.
Once approved, the acquisition will give QCI a portfolio of core photonic technologies, patents, as well as a team of engineers and scientists. The company said the deal will accelerate its own technology roadmap, while also supporting and growing LSI's customer base.
Photonic technologies use light instead of electrons for tasks such as data transmission, computing and powering quantum chips.
QCI said the acquisition will also strengthen its supply chain and accelerate the advancement of its compact, fully integrated quantum systems for commercial deployment.
“This acquisition represents a meaningful step forward in our strategy to develop and scale practical, integrated quantum solutions,” QCI CEO Yuping Huang said in a statement.
Huang noted that the revenue opportunity for the company will be "two-fold" by expanding LSI's current non-quantum customer base and also utilizing "LSI's technology and products to drive the commercialization of quantum appliances in our targeted markets."
The chief executive also said that LSI's customer base will benefit from QCI's ownership because the company is "in a strong position to invest immediately in LSI’s R&D, product development, and manufacturing capabilities."
“LSI is a high-quality business with significant long-term potential, and this transaction with QCi provides the investment and strategic vision needed to realize that potential,” LSI CEO Paul Ricci said in a statement.
In what has been a year that has seen quantum computing stocks surge, QCI has been an outlier, failing to grab the same momentum with investors. The company's stock dropped nearly 9.3% on Wednesday and has plunged 38.3% for the year.
Meanwhile, rivals like Rigetti Computing (RGTI), D-Wave Quantum (QBTS) and IonQ (IONQ) have all seen their shares soar. Rigetti has gained nearly 102%, D-Wave's stock has surged 183.1% and IonQ is up 9.8%.
It doesn't help that QCI is facing a class-action lawsuit with at least 10 law firms digging into its business practices.
Accusations have ranged from overstating progress on a planned quantum foundry in Arizona to a NASA contract last year that allegedly was just a $26,000 generic programming job.
The same accusations were thrown at the company when it said in August that it had landed a contract with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), part of the U.S. Department of Commerce, for the design and fabrication of thin-film lithium niobate (TFLN) photonic integrated circuits.
Anathema Research called it "another PR stunt," pointing out that the contract was only worth $69,500.