IBM has acquired HRL Laboratories, a quantum R&D company that is jointly owned by Boeing and General Motors (GM).. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but IBM said that following the close of the transaction, Boeing and GM will partner with IBM on the development of “quantum applications and advanced technology.”.
The deal is expected to close by the end of Q3 2026, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals.. – Dan Swinhoe. In a statement announcing the acquisition, IBM said HRL’s “advanced expertise in silicon-spin qubit engineering” will complement and extend its own long-term mission to “scale increasingly powerful quantum computers and accelerate its quantum vision.”.
Additionally, innovations HRL has already made in the quantum materials space will provide IBM with the potential to unlock better semiconductors and more sensitive sensors, IBM noted.. “Combined with additional capabilities in cryogenics, control electronics, qubit interconnects, and packaging, IBM anticipates that HRL’s technical breakthroughs will help fuel its quantum program for decades to come,” the statement read..
IBM has long been at the forefront of quantum computing development and, in February 2025, claimed to have booked $1 billion in quantum business between Q1 2017 and Q4 2024. In June 2026, the company announced plans to invest more than $10bn on quantum computing over the next five years..
Commenting on the acquisition, Jay Gambetta, IBM’s director of research and IBM fellow, said: “The HRL team will help IBM push even farther forward toward the frontiers of quantum innovation. This talented group of researchers brings a broad portfolio of technologies that will strengthen IBM’s long-term plans to deliver useful quantum computing to the world, bringing together advances across quantum computing, quantum sensing, and quantum networking to enable the applications of the future.”.
“Joining IBM is the natural next chapter for what we have built at HRL, where our team has dedicated years to exploring paths to how future quantum computers could be built at scales that today seem impossible,” added Rob Vasquez, president and CEO at HRL “We now look forward to leveraging IBM’s industry leadership and working alongside their world-class talent on fundamental infrastructure to take this vision forward. Additionally, our cutting-edge physical and information science innovations will combine with their advanced research capabilities to deliver an unmatched suite of technology solutions for our commercial and government customers.”.
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