Intel announced on October 26 that it has agreed to acquire Classiq, the Tel Aviv startup that builds software for designing quantum programs, in a deal Israeli outlets value at roughly $2.2 to $2.3 billion. Why it matters: it would be the largest acquisition of a quantum company to date, and it turns Intel’s small quantum hardware effort into a full-stack business built around a software layer — one whose platform, per Intel, combines AI agents with quantum design automation.
October 26, 2026
What Intel is buying
Classiq, founded in 2020 by Nir Minerbi, Amir Naveh and Prof. Yehuda Naveh, sells a platform that lets developers design, build, test and run quantum programs without hand-crafting circuits for each machine. Its software is hardware-agnostic: it works across quantum systems from IBM, Google and IonQ, among others, as well as Intel’s own spin-qubit systems. Intel describes the platform as combining AI agents, a high-level quantum modeling language and design automation, with hardware benchmarking and cost and performance optimization built in.
Enterprises are already using it. BMW has used Classiq to develop quantum software that simulates car aerodynamics, HSBC used it for a fraud-detection algorithm, and Italian bank Intesa Sanpaolo built an application to price options over shorter timeframes. Classiq has raised just over $200 million since founding, including a $33 million Series B in February 2022 and a $110 million Series C in May 2025.
The deal — including the price Intel did not disclose
Intel’s announcement gives no financial terms. Globes put the value at about $2.2 billion and Calcalist (CTech) at about $2.3 billion, in a mix of cash and Intel stock — treat those figures as reports, not confirmed terms. Calcalist calls it the most expensive quantum-company acquisition to date by a wide margin; the previous record was IonQ’s $1 billion purchase of Oxford Ionics last year. The deal is subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions, is expected to close in the first half of 2027, and the two companies will operate separately until then.
One wrinkle worth noting: Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan was one of Classiq’s earliest backers, personally participating in both the 2022 Series B and the 2025 Series C. CTech reported that he recused himself from the acquisition talks. Intel says Classiq will become its global development center for quantum computing, and that it intends to keep the platform’s multi-hardware support in place after closing.
Why it matters
Intel likens Classiq’s role to what design-automation software did for classical chips: a high-level abstraction layer that lets an industry scale past hand-crafted work. Pairing that layer with Intel’s silicon spin-qubit manufacturing is a bet that the money in quantum will sit in the software that makes any machine usable, not only in one company’s hardware. For AI readers, the signal is convergence — the same agent-and-automation playbook reshaping ordinary software is now being applied to quantum program design, and a top-tier chipmaker just paid a record price for it. The honest caveat: quantum computing still has no mass-market moment, and this deal does not close until 2027, if regulators allow it.
Frequently asked questions
How much is Intel paying for Classiq?
Intel did not disclose the price. Israeli outlets Globes and Calcalist report roughly $2.2 billion and $2.3 billion respectively, in cash and stock.
When will the Intel-Classiq deal close?
Intel expects closing in the first half of 2027, subject to regulatory approvals and customary conditions. Until then, the companies operate independently.
Will Classiq still support non-Intel quantum hardware?
Intel says yes — it plans to maintain Classiq’s hardware-agnostic, multi-platform approach, which covers systems from IBM, Google, IonQ and others.
Sources: Intel announcement via SiliconANGLE, Calcalist/CTech, Globes via AIStockWire, Stocktwits