IBM has signed a definitive agreement to acquire HRL Laboratories, LLC, the Malibu, California research center jointly owned by Boeing and General Motors, in a deal announced on July 23, 2026 that adds a second qubit modality — silicon-spin — to IBM's superconducting quantum roadmap. Financial terms were not disclosed. The transaction is expected to close by the end of the third quarter of 2026, subject to customary conditions and regulatory approvals, with both Boeing and GM continuing as quantum-applications partners.
Silicon-Spin Qubits Alongside Superconducting Hardware
HRL brings decades of exchange-only silicon spin-qubit engineering, including a 2023 Nature paper that first demonstrated universal control of encoded spin qubits and a 54-quantum-dot, 18-qubit silicon processor disclosed in April 2026. Both silicon-spin and superconducting qubits rely on advanced CMOS-compatible silicon fabrication, giving IBM shared learning cycles across cryogenics, control electronics, packaging and interconnects. "The HRL team will help IBM push even farther forward toward the frontiers of quantum innovation," said Jay Gambetta, IBM Director of Research and IBM Fellow.
Anderon Foundry Gets a New Modality
The acquisition is expected to plug directly into Anderon, the pure-play quantum wafer foundry IBM announced in May 2026 with support from the U.S. Department of Commerce. IBM says the combination could enable spin-qubit manufacturing at scale inside Anderon while accelerating learning cycles for both modalities. "Joining IBM is the natural next chapter for what we have built at HRL," said Rob Vasquez, HRL's President and CEO, citing HRL's commercial and government customer base.
Toward Quantum Starling and Blue Jay
IBM is holding its published roadmap: deliver Quantum Starling by 2029 (20,000× more powerful than today's systems, capable of 100 million quantum operations), followed in the mid-2030s by Quantum Blue Jay at 1 billion operations. Silicon-spin R&D from HRL is framed as a longer-horizon parallel bet — one that could unlock denser qubit tiling and warmer operating temperatures than superconducting circuits. HRL also brings quantum sensing, quantum materials, cryogenics, RF microelectronics and GaN-on-SiC know-how that IBM says will fuel adjacent programs.
Boeing and GM Retain Quantum Ties
Boeing and GM will keep partnering with IBM on quantum applications and advanced technology development after the deal closes, preserving HRL's role in aerospace, automotive and defense workflows. The move continues a wave of quantum consolidation and public-private capacity building in 2026, including Diraq and imec's 300mm CMOS silicon-spin work, Hitachi and Intel's 18A silicon-spin PDK and Sandia and Quantinuum's 98-qubit Helios result.
Reporting based on coverage from IBM Newsroom (July 23, 2026), PR Newswire and Quantum Computing Report.