- Confluent is acquired by IBM for $11 billion in cash ($31 per share)
- IBM aims to expand its cloud, data and AI infrastructure offerings
- Confluent’s total addressable market and revenue increased significantly
IBM has confirmed plans to buy data streaming company Confluent in an $11 billion deal, the equivalent of $31 per share.
The deal sees IBM value Confluent approximately 34% higher than the stock price suggested before the announcement, and it marks an important step in IBM’s strategy to expand cloud infrastructure, data and AI offerings.
Confluent in particular specializes in handling large, real-time data streams present in AI workflows, as IBM hopes to create an intelligent data platform for generative and agentic AI.
IBM acquires Confluent for $11 billion
“With the acquisition of Confluent, IBM will provide an intelligent data platform for enterprise IT, purpose-built for AI,” commented Arvind Krishna, CEO of IBM.
In a press release, IBM cited IDC data suggesting that more than a billion new logic applications could emerge by 2028. “These applications, along with AI agents, need access to connected, trusted data – in real time,” the company wrote.
This comes after a period of significant growth for Confluent. Its total addressable market has doubled from $50 billion to $100 billion over the past four years. In the three months ending September 30, 2025, Confluent reported a 19% year-over-year increase in revenue, following a 20% increase in the previous quarter and a 25% increase in the previous quarter.
Chief Financial Officer Rohan Sivaram attributed the positive figures to “the momentum of [its] data streaming platform.
Discussions with IBM regarding a sale of the company reportedly began during the last quarter.
“Since its founding, Confluent has helped organizations unlock the full potential of their data, driving innovation in an increasingly complex IT landscape,” CEO Jay Kreps said of the acquisition deal.
IBM plans to complete the transaction by mid-2026.
Follow TechRadar on Google News And add us as your favorite source to get our news, reviews and expert opinions in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button!
And of course you can too follow TechRadar on TikTok for news, reviews, unboxings in video form and receive regular updates from us on WhatsApp Also.
