IBM to acquire HRL Laboratories to strengthen its long-term quantum program by adding HRL’s silicon-spin qubit expertise to its own superconducting-qubit work. IBM has signed a definitive agreement to acquire HRL Laboratories, a private research lab jointly owned by Boeing and General Motors.
The transaction is subject to standard closing conditions and regulatory approvals, and IBM said it expects it to close by the end of the third quarter of 2026. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“The HRL team will help IBM push even farther forward toward the frontiers of quantum innovation,” said Jay Gambetta, IBM’s Director of Research and IBM Fellow. “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.”
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About HRL Laboratories
HRL is a long-running research and development lab focused on advanced technology for aerospace, defense, automotive, and communications work. The company deals in solid-state technology for quantum computing and networking, with work spanning silicon quantum-dot qubits, silicon carbide photonics, quantum benchmarking, and related areas. HRL collaborates with commercial customers to develop and prototype emerging technologies and to support pilot production manufacturing needs.
So, IBM is not just acquiring a brand; actually, it is buying capability. HRL has already demonstrated important spin-qubit milestones. In 2023, the company published the first demonstration of universal control of encoded spin qubits. HRL’s spinQICK open-source tooling is designed to control solid-state spin qubits.
“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,” said Rob Vasquez, President and Chief Executive Officer 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.”
With the HRL acquisition, IBM is adding a second technology path: silicon-based spin qubits. IBM said both approaches depend on state-of-the-art silicon fabrication, which makes them credible candidates for scaling. HRL’s electron-spin circuits can be made with the same kind of equipment used for conventional chip fabrication, and they can be smaller than superconducting circuits.
IBM said its roadmap remains on course for IBM Quantum Starling by 2029, followed in the mid-2030s by Blue Jay, which it says is projected to reach 1 billion quantum tasks. IBM added that HRL’s spin-qubit work could help it scale quantum computers into the next decade and could support future work in quantum detection, quantum materials, cryogenics, control electronics, qubit interconnects, and packaging.
Quantum computing is still an unsettled field, with several competing hardware models in play. The companies and labs are pursuing multiple ways of building quantum circuits, and IBM’s HRL deal adds a second approach to its portfolio.
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According to IBM, HRL could work closely with that foundry and the combination could support spin-qubit manufacturing and faster learning cycles. That shows IBM wants the acquisition to feed not only scientific progress, but also manufacturing discipline.
IBM is acquiring HRL Laboratories, a serious spin-qubit research capability, a materials and sensing portfolio, and a team that has already shown notable results in silicon-based quantum devices. If the transaction closes as planned, IBM will have two quantum tracks running at once: superconducting qubits today and spin qubits for the next phase. That is the real news here.
