WORLDTECHIntel agrees to buy quantum software startup Classiq for $2.2 billion
Intel has agreed to terms for a major acquisition of Classiq Technologies Ltd., a quantum computing software startup, in a deal reported at $2.2 billion. According to SiliconANGLE, the purchase signals Intel's ambitions beyond chips and into the software that runs on quantum machines.
What the software does
Classiq describes its business as an operating system that lets developers execute complex algorithms across a range of different quantum computers. The company has compared itself to Microsoft in the quantum field.
The platform is designed to work independently of the hardware beneath it. It is intended to serve as a common environment for designing, building, testing and running software on any kind of quantum computer, a point that matters because the industry is pursuing many competing machine designs at once.
Customers and early use cases
SiliconANGLE reports that BMW has used Classiq's platform to develop quantum software for simulating car aerodynamics, allowing vehicles to be modelled under different scenarios, such as components built from different materials. The approach is meant to reduce the need for costlier real-world testing by stress-testing ideas in highly realistic simulations.
Other customers named in the report include HSBC Holdings Plc, which used the platform to develop a quantum algorithm for fraud detection, and the Italian bank Intesa Sanpaolo, which built an application to price options over shorter timeframes in order to raise profitability per transaction.
Investor history and funding
Intel's chief executive, Lip-Bu Tan, was among Classiq's earliest investors, taking part in its $33 million Series B round in February 2022. He returned to invest in the company's $110 million Series C round in May 2025. Classiq has raised just over $200 million in total.
Intel described Classiq's technology as comparable to electronic design automation and computer-aided design software, saying it could have the same kind of effect on quantum computing that those tools had on chip design and advanced engineering.
Why the deal matters for Intel
According to the report, the acquisition is not only a wager on the future of quantum computing but also a significant step by Intel into operating systems. Intel is a semiconductor and electrical company based in Santa Clara, and the deal would extend its activities into software layers that sit above hardware.
Open questions
- Will Classiq's software remain available across the quantum machines of rival companies after the acquisition?
- Has the deal closed, or does it still depend on conditions that the report does not describe?