Key takeaways
- Intel announced a definitive agreement on October 26 to acquire Tel Aviv quantum software company Classiq.
- Closing is expected in the first half of 2027, subject to regulatory approvals.
- Intel did not disclose a price; SiliconANGLE reports $2.2 billion.
Intel is set to acquire Classiq, a Tel Aviv company that makes software for programming quantum computers, according to Intel's announcement on October 26. The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2027. Intel's release does not give a price. SiliconANGLE reports it is $2.2 billion, which would make it Intel's second-largest deal after Mobileye.
Intel wants to sell quantum computing as a complete stack: the chips and the software on top. Classiq supplies the software half.
What Classiq does
Classiq's platform lets developers describe what a quantum program should do and then generates the circuit for a given machine. SiliconANGLE lists BMW, HSBC and Intesa Sanpaolo as customers. Classiq raised a $33 million Series B in 2022 and a $110 million Series C in May 2025, and has raised just over $200 million in total, according to the same report.
What Intel says it will do
Intel says it will pair Classiq's platform with its own spin-qubit manufacturing and software, which would add quantum processors (QPUs) to its CPUs, GPUs and ASICs. CEO Lip-Bu Tan said the deal "transforms Intel's Quantum Computing Group into a full-stack quantum computing business."
Intel also says it will keep supporting Classiq's existing integrations and keep the software hardware-agnostic. That means it should keep working with other companies' quantum machines. Until the deal closes, the two companies operate separately.
A link between the two companies
SiliconANGLE reports that Tan was an early Classiq investor and took part in both of its funding rounds. Intel's release does not mention this.
What we don't know yet
- Price and form of payment. Intel's release does not say, and the $2.2 billion figure comes from one outlet.
- Who runs the combined business. The release does not say.
- Retention. Intel's own forward-looking statements flag keeping key Classiq staff and customers as a risk.
- Approvals. The deal needs regulatory approval, and Intel has not said which regulators.
Watch for Intel's SEC filings and its earnings report on October 29, which may add terms.