IBM Completes Acquisition of HRL Laboratories
Insider Brief
- IBM has completed its acquisition of HRL Laboratories, adding expertise in silicon-spin qubits, quantum sensing, materials, cryogenics and related technologies to its quantum hardware efforts.
- HRL’s silicon-spin capabilities complement IBM’s superconducting quantum computing work and could support research across quantum hardware, manufacturing and infrastructure.
- Boeing and General Motors, HRL’s former owners, will continue working with IBM and HRL on quantum applications and advanced technology development.
Press release – IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced it has completed its acquisition of HRL Laboratories, LLC (HRL), a leading research and development institution whose expertise spans quantum computing, quantum sensing, advanced communications, electronics, manufacturing, and materials science.
The acquisition brings together two leading organizations with a shared commitment to advancing the frontiers of science and technology. HRL‘s expertise in silicon-spin qubits complements IBM‘s leadership in superconducting quantum computing. HRL also brings capabilities in quantum sensing, quantum materials, cryogenics, control electronics, packaging, and interconnect technologies that are expected to strengthen IBM’s quantum hardware roadmap and support continued innovation across the quantum technology stack.
IBM continues to advance superconducting-qubit architectures through breakthroughs in hardware, error correction, software, and algorithms designed to enable increasingly capable quantum systems. IBM’s roadmap includes its fault-tolerant quantum computer IBM Quantum Starling, expected by 2029 to perform 100 million quantum operations and deliver significantly greater computational capability than today’s quantum computers. Starling is expected to be followed by Blue Jay, IBM’s next-generation fault-tolerant quantum computer, targeted for the mid-2030s.
The acquisition also complements IBM‘s broader innovation and investment in quantum manufacturing and infrastructure. HRL‘s expertise in silicon-based quantum technologies creates opportunities for future collaboration with Anderon, IBM’s pure-play quantum wafer foundry, supporting scalable manufacturing approaches and accelerating learning cycles across multiple quantum computing modalities.
Boeing and General Motors, HRL‘s former owners, will continue to partner with IBM and HRL on quantum applications and advanced technology development.
Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
To learn more about IBM‘s acquisition and history of HRL, read here.
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Mohib Ur Rehman
Covering quantum and emerging technologies, Mohib explores the intersection of technology, security, and society. His work also frequently examines surveillance infrastructure and the institutions shaping the digital world. In addition to his work at The Quantum Insider, he co-runs SK NEXUS, an independent technology publication that helps readers understand the technologies shaping their lives.
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MENTIONED IN THE ARTICLE
IBM
IBM is an iconic technology pioneer founded in 1911 as the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company and officially renamed International Business Machines Corporation in 1924. Beyond foundational computing, IBM possesses a deep legacy in aerospace and defense from building the guidance computers and Instrument Unit for NASA's historic Apollo missions to partnering with Airbus on CIMON, the first AI assistant on the ISS.
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HRL Laboratories
HRL Laboratories is a world leader in developing solid-state technology for quantum computing and networking. They are advancing a variety of technologies including silicon heterostructure quantum dot qubits, silicon carbide photonics, superconducting nanowire single photon detectors, chip-scale atom-optics components, and microwave-dot hybrid systems. HRL’s campus in Malibu, CA is equipped with on-site epitaxial semiconductor growth tools, a 10,000-square-foot nano-fabrication cleanroom facility, high-performance computational resources for theory and simulation, and cryogenic test and measurement laboratories. It is the same site that originated with inventions such as the self-aligned gate MOSFET and the world’s first laser. HRL’s semiconductor quantum chip, known as SLEDGE, is one of the quantum computing devices that will be available for UW–Madison researchers and students under a new industry partnership through the LPS Qubit Collaboratory.
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