IBM Adds Major AI Infrastructure Piece With $11B Confluent Deal
IBM announced Monday it will acquire Confluent, the enterprise data-streaming platform powering real-time information flow across major industries, in a transaction valued at $11 billion. The deal reflects IBM’s push to expand its AI software stack at a time when real-time data—not static databases—is becoming the backbone of modern AI systems.
Confluent stock rallied 29% on the news, while IBM shares edged up about 1%.
IBM CEO Arvind Krishna emphasized that real-time data is becoming essential for AI-enabled enterprises:
“Nobody can live with week-old data. Confluent has the most capable technology to unlock the real-time value of data,” he told CNBC.
The acquisition will fold Confluent into IBM’s software division, providing a unified data platform capable of feeding AI agents securely and at scale. IBM expects global data creation to more than double by 2028, with AI-agent adoption accelerating as early as 2026.
Strategic Fit for IBM’s AI Push
Industry analysts were quick to praise the move. Wedbush called the acquisition a “strong step” that enhances IBM’s hybrid-cloud and AI architecture while helping enterprises eliminate data silos.
This is the latest in a string of data-focused purchases:
- HashiCorp for $6.4B (2024)
- Apptio for $4.6B (2023)
Wedbush reiterated its overweight rating on IBM with a $325 price target.
Why Confluent Matters
Confluent powers real-time data streaming for more than 6,500 customers, including AWS, Google Cloud, Microsoft, Snowflake, and AI leaders like Anthropic. As AI shifts toward autonomous agents relying on constant data flow, Confluent’s infrastructure becomes increasingly valuable.
The deal is expected to close by mid-2026, pending regulatory approval.
WSA Take
AI adoption is moving beyond model development and into full system deployment, where live, secure, scalable data delivery becomes the differentiator. IBM’s acquisition of Confluent signals a race among legacy tech giants to rebuild their stacks for an AI-first world.
For enterprises—and investors—the message is clear: the next phase of AI growth depends not just on chips, but on the data pipelines powering them.
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