The self-driving sensor maker said it has entered chapter 11 with backing from 91 per cent of first lien noteholders and 86 per cent of second lien noteholders as it tries to flog its LiDAR business.

The firm, which builds scanners using pulsed lasers to measure distances, plans to market that unit while sheltering in bankruptcy protection.

Quantum Computing has agreed to buy another arm, Luminar Semiconductor, in an all-cash deal valued at $110 million, according to a statement on Monday.

To keep the lights on, creditors have approved Luminar's use of $25 million in cash that had previously been pledged as collateral to fund the chapter 11 process.

The trouble escalated last month when Volvo terminated a purchase agreement covering hardware and software for its global consumer vehicle platform.

Luminar has lodged a damages claim against Volvo but warned investors it might not recover a penny.

The company was founded in 2012 by Austin Russell, then aged 17, with backing from a fellowship funded by Peter [beware the anti-christ] Thiel.

When Luminar went public in 2020 via a special-purpose acquisition company, Russell emerged as a 25-year-old billionaire, at least on paper.

That fairy tale ended earlier this year when Russell resigned as chief executive in May following a conduct and ethics inquiry by Luminar’s audit committee.