IBM to Acquire HRL Laboratories, Adding Electron Spin Qubits to Its Quantum Roadmap

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Deal brings electron spin qubit technology from the Boeing- and GM-owned lab into IBM's quantum computing roadmap.

IBM has agreed to acquire HRL Laboratories, the storied Malibu, California research institution jointly owned by Boeing and General Motors, in a move that hands the company a second core quantum computing technology to sit alongside its longstanding superconducting qubit program.

The company announced the definitive agreement on Thursday. Financial terms were not disclosed, and the deal is expected to close by the end of the third quarter of 2026, subject to regulatory approval. Boeing and GM, HRL's current owners, said they intend to keep working with IBM on quantum applications and advanced technology development once the transaction closes.

A different kind of qubit

IBM has spent years building its quantum program around superconducting circuits — the same basic approach used by Google. HRL brings something different: electron spin qubits, sometimes called silicon-spin qubits, which are fabricated using techniques much closer to conventional semiconductor manufacturing. That kinship with standard chipmaking is part of the appeal, since it could let spin-based qubits piggyback on decades of existing industrial infrastructure to scale up faster than superconducting hardware.

Jay Gambetta, who leads IBM Research and its quantum division, described the acquisition as a way of "significantly diversifying IBM's hardware strategy" while still pushing forward on the superconducting roadmap the company has pursued for years. In comments ahead of the announcement, Gambetta said the size advantage of spin qubits — they can be built much smaller than superconducting circuits — is expected to become especially relevant once IBM's superconducting "Blue Jay" system arrives in 2033.

HRL's team has reportedly made real technical progress on the approach: the lab published research earlier this year on an 18-qubit silicon processor built from 54 quantum dots, work that pushed forward the "exchange-only" qubit method and included early demonstrations of error-detecting codes.

From Malibu to New York

Under the deal, HRL's research team — which has been fabricating chips at its California site — is expected to shift chip production to IBM's facility in New York. Gambetta also indicated that IBM has "a parallel path" of spin-based quantum work of its own that the company plans to make available soon, suggesting the HRL acquisition will complement rather than replace internal efforts already underway.

The lab has a long pedigree: GM acquired Hughes Aircraft Company in 1985, and Hughes Research Laboratories was spun out as HRL Laboratories in 1997, with Boeing taking an ownership stake in 2000. In the decades since, HRL has published more than 1,100 patents and contributed research spanning defense, aerospace, and automotive applications, including early work on swarm robotics.

Part of a broader industry pattern

IBM's move to add a second quantum hardware approach echoes a similar step taken by Google earlier this year, when it expanded its own quantum portfolio to include neutral-atom technology. The HRL deal also lands shortly after IonQ's announced plans in January 2026 to acquire SkyWater Technology, a move aimed at giving that company its own dedicated chip foundry.

IBM has committed to investing more than $10 billion in quantum computing over five years, with a fault-tolerant system called Starling targeted for 2029 and the larger Blue Jay system targeted for 2033. The HRL acquisition suggests the company sees value in hedging its bets on hardware architecture as it — and its competitors — race to build machines capable of tackling problems far beyond the reach of classical computers.

Sources: Reuters, IBM Research, IBM Newsroom

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