Intel Agrees to Buy Israeli Quantum Software Maker Classiq to Build a Full-Stack Platform

Intel (INTC) said Monday it has agreed to acquire Classiq, an Israeli developer of quantum computing software, as it tries to move its quantum program from research toward a commercial platform. Intel did not disclose the price or how it will pay, and said the deal is expected to close in the first half of 2027, subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions.

The deal at a glance

What Intel says it is buying

Classiq makes a software platform that automates the design of quantum algorithms, combining AI agents, a high-level quantum modeling language and design automation. Intel says it is used by dozens of global enterprises and also supports benchmarking and optimization across different quantum hardware.

Intel plans to combine it with its own quantum software, silicon spin-qubit technology and chip manufacturing to create a full-stack quantum platform, with quantum processing units sitting alongside its CPUs, GPUs and ASICs. The company says it has invested in quantum computing since 2015 and described itself as the only company able to produce both qubit chips and the cryogenic control electronics at scale, which is Intel's own claim. Intel said it will keep Classiq's software hardware-agnostic and continue supporting its existing integrations with other platforms. CEO Lip-Bu Tan said the deal turns Intel's Quantum Computing Group into a full-stack quantum business, and Classiq CEO Nir Minerbi said the two companies can help speed adoption.

Ties between Intel's CEO and the quantum industry

Tan has personal connections to several players. According to reports, he was among the individual investors in an earlier Classiq funding round, and Classiq's later investors reportedly include IonQ, AMD Ventures and Qualcomm Ventures, bringing its total funding to more than $200 million. Tan joined the board of PsiQuantum, a quantum computing company reportedly valued at about $7 billion, in April. A&E Investment, the venture firm he chairs, invested in PsiQuantum in 2019 and in IonQ the same year.

The competitive picture

Rivals have been buying capabilities as well. IonQ agreed to acquire Oxford Ionics for about $1.075 billion in 2025, and announced in January an agreement to buy chip foundry SkyWater Technology for about $1.8 billion, which it completed on July 31. Google unveiled its 105-qubit Willow chip in December 2024, and Microsoft is also developing quantum systems. Classiq has worked with several of these companies, and IonQ was among its investors.

The commercialization question

Intel's quantum hardware is still at the research stage; its best-known chip, the 12-qubit Tunnel Falls released in 2023, was a research device. Intel does not yet have the commercial traction some competitors have built, and today's quantum machines remain limited for practical uses. Fault-tolerant systems, which are needed for most large-scale applications, are still years away across the industry. Buying software gives Intel a faster route to customers, but the hardware to run it at scale remains the harder part.

Sources: Intel Corporation, announcement of the Classiq acquisition (Oct. 26). Other details are from company announcements and reports. This is informational, not a recommendation to buy or sell.