Broomfield’s Insight has insights on emerging from Chapter 11

BROOMFIELD — A company that is developing sensors for self-driving vehicles is hopeful to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection once orders from automakers come in.

“We have three major companies including two major automakers who want to use their devices on their vehicles, but they’ve had to put off the safety stuff because of all the new regulations,” said Michael Minneman, CEO of Insight LiDAR Inc. “Companies that are sprawling have been asked to shift from what they’ve been doing for 100-plus years into doing something very different, so it’s all hands on deck trying to make those changes. We want to be sure we’re here when they’re ready.”

Insight LiDAR and partner company Insight Photonic Solutions Inc., which operate at 100 Technology Drive, Unit 310, in the Interlocken area of Broomfield, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Thursday and asked the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Colorado to handle their cases together.

Minneman told BizWest on Monday that the combined company had employed 63 workers at its peak but is down to “around a dozen.”

A case filed under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code is frequently referred to as a “reorganization” bankruptcy, in which the debtor usually continues to operate as a business, remains in possession of its property and assets, has the powers and duties of a trustee, and may, with court approval, borrow new money.

Insight LiDAR is developing sensors for self-driving vehicles using frequency-modulated continuous-wave LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) that can also measure the speed of an object.

Founded in 2007, Insight Photonic Solutions supplies all-semiconductor high-speed swept lasers that are used in the medical imaging method called optical coherence tomography.

In its bankruptcy filing, Insight Photonic Solutions claimed assets of between $1,000,001 and $10 million and said it owes between $10,000,001 and $50 million to between 100 and 199 creditors. The largest amounts of money it said it owed were more than $2.3 million to Dedham, Massachusetts-based 2Enable Partners and nearly $1.7 million to Innolume GmbH in Dortmund, Germany.

Meanwhile, Insight LiDAR claimed assets of between $1,000,001 and $10 million and said it owes a total of between $1,000,001 and $10 million to between one and 49 creditors. That list included more than $173,000 owed to Doug Babcock’s Manchester, New Hampshire-based Babcock Design LLC and more than $141,000 owed to Richard Saunders’ Denver-based RCS LLC in Denver.

Minneman declined to cite specific numbers about the companies’ liabilities or discuss more details about Insight’s reorganization plans until they are available in public records.

The cases are Insight Photonics Inc., case number 24-13141-MER, and Insight Lidar Inc., case number 24-13142-TBM, both in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Denver.

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