Quantum computing remains a field of prototypes and research deals, and Intel has long treated it as a long-horizon bet alongside its core chip business. Intel agreed to acquire Classiq Technologies, whose clients include BMW and AT&T, for an estimated $2.3 billion, according to CTech. Its software does for quantum computers roughly what an operating system does for conventional ones. That positioning matters because no single quantum hardware approach has yet won out, and software that works across them is one of the few parts of the stack companies can buy today.
The deal lands in a sector where acquisitions have been rare and mostly modest. No quantum company has been bought for more, with IonQ's deal for Oxford Ionics last year the previous high mark, and people close to Classiq said Lip-Bu Tan, who put his own money into the startup before becoming Intel's chief executive, stayed out of the negotiations, Ctech reported. Classiq had been weighing a Wall Street listing before agreeing to sell, at a time when several quantum companies that went public have seen uneven trading. For Israel's technology sector, the transaction is the first large exit from its quantum industry.
For Intel, the purchase revives an ambition it has described publicly for some time. Quantum research has run for years alongside its main businesses. Intel officially unveiled Horse Ridge, its first-generation cryogenic quantum control chip, in December 2019. Until now, that work has centered mostly on hardware. The company has been through a difficult stretch till more recently in early 2026, and Tan has spent the past year and a half reshaping the company around its x86 products and foundry business. The Classiq announcement comes days before Intel reports third-quarter results on Thursday.