Intel to buy Israeli quantum software firm Classiq for $2.3 billion
Intel agreed to acquire Classiq, a Tel Aviv company whose software helps developers build quantum programs that run on many kinds of hardware, for about $2.3 billion in cash and stock. The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2027, pending regulatory approval.
AI-assisted · US Brief desk · Sources listed below
What happened
Intel said Monday it signed a definitive agreement to acquire Classiq, which makes software that turns high-level quantum programs into circuits for different machines. Ctech reported the price at $2.3 billion in cash and Intel stock, which it called the largest quantum-computing acquisition yet, well above IonQ's $1 billion deal for Oxford Ionics last year.
Why it matters
Intel is still in a turnaround and is paying roughly three times Classiq's last private valuation for a field that,is still early commercially. The bet is that software will decide which quantum hardware gets used, as it did for regular chips.
More context
Intel's pitch: Intel says pairing Classiq's hardware-agnostic software with its silicon spin-qubit research and cryogenic control chips turns it into a full-stack quantum provider. "Joining forces with Classiq transforms Intel's Quantum Computing Group into a full-stack quantum computing business," CEO Lip-Bu Tan said.
About Classiq: The company has about 150 employees and customers including BMW, Rolls-Royce, HSBC and Citi, according to Ctech. It raised about $200 million, and its last round in 2025 valued it at an estimated $600 million–$700 million. Ctech said its annual revenue is in the tens of millions of dollars.
Conflict question: Tan personally invested in Classiq before becoming Intel's CEO. Sources close to Classiq told Ctech he recused himself from discussions about the deal. Intel's release does not address it.
What's still unknown: Whether regulators in the U.S. or Israel will look closely at the deal, how much of the price is stock, and how Intel's investors will react.
3 listed sources
References listed by US Brief; a source count is not a verification score.
Editorial sourcing notes
Sourcing: Intel's Oct. 26 press release (deal terms, closing timeline, quotes) and Calcalist's Ctech (price, investors, Tan's stake and recusal). The $2.3 billion price and the cash-and-stock split come from Ctech and other reports; Intel's release does not state a price. Photos are file images.
Like US Brief? You can support it with a tip.