LiDAR maker Ibeo files for insolvency

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In a collaboration with Airbus, Ibeo tested autonomous driving under special safety requirements on an airport tarmac. | Source: Ibeo Automotive Systems

Ibeo Automotive Systems GmbH, a global provider of LiDAR sensors, has filed for insolvency and the Hamburg insolvency court has granted insolvency proceedings in self-administration. The company is continuing operations in all divisions in Hamburg, Germany, Eindhoven, Netherlands, and Detroit, Michigan at full capacity.

Ibeo’s management remains fully in charge of operations during the company’s self-administration. Currently, its management team is examining restructuring options for the company and leading the search for a new investor. Ibeo’s team is optimistic that with a new investor, the company will be able to continue its position as a leading supplier of LiDAR sensors, related products and software tools. 

Ibeo’s management team hopes that it can find an investor for the company in the field of autonomous driving based in Hamburg-Rahlstedt. They have been in talks with investors since May 2022. 

The company filed for an insolvency application because it could not secure further growth financing. Ibeo’s goal is to preserve the company and as many jobs as possible through the insolvency process.

“Therefore, we will now specifically search for interested parties to support Ibeo’s further growth. We continue to believe in our market-leading technology, our highly qualified employees, and our business model and see a large future market for Ibeo’s lidar sensors, including the world’s first ready-to-use 4D solid-state LiDAR sensor for automotive series production. In its 25 years of existence, Ibeo has established itself in the market as a leading specialist for lidar sensors, the associated software and accompanying systems. We are optimistic that Ibeo’s future technologies have very good chances in the booming global autonomous driving market. This makes Ibeo attractive for an investor,” Managing Director and CEO Dr. Ulrich S. Lages said.

Lages and Christophe Minster, managing director and COO, informed Ibeo’s workforce of the situation and the company’s next steps in a live video call. Wages and salaries for more than 400 employees at the company have been secured until the end of November. 

The company’s management team is being supported by restructuring experts from the law firm Brinkmann & Partner. The district court has appointed insolvency expert Dr. Tjark Thies from the law firm Reimer Rechtsanwälte as provisional administrator. It also appointed a provisional creditors’ committee on which suppliers, employees, lenders and the employment agency are represented.