Intel agrees to buy Classiq, a bet that easy software will open up quantum computing

A bank that wants to test a fraud model on a quantum computer has a hard first step. Someone must turn the idea into a circuit, almost by hand, for one type of machine. Classiq, a six-year-old company in Tel Aviv, sells software that does much of that work, and HSBC has used it for just such a fraud tool, Globes reports.

Now Intel wants to own that software. The Intel Classiq deal, announced on Monday, is a bet that quantum computing will grow the way ordinary chips did: when building for it became easy. Intel did not give a price. Israeli business press puts it at about US$2.2-2.3 billion, which would make it the largest purchase of a quantum computing company so far.

What Intel is buying with Classiq, and what it wants to build

In plain terms, Intel acquires Classiq once regulators agree: it has signed what it calls a “definitive agreement”, a binding deal. Classiq’s tool lets a developer describe what a program should do. The software then works out the circuit a quantum machine needs. It works on many kinds of machines, from trapped ions to light-based designs.

Intel has worked on quantum computing since 2015. It builds “spin qubits”: tiny bits of quantum data held in single electrons, made in normal chip factories. In 2023 it showed Tunnel Falls, a 12-qubit research chip. Intel also says it is the only company that can make qubit chips and their super-cold control electronics at scale. That is Intel’s own claim.

Put together, Intel says, it would offer the full stack: chips, control hardware and easy software. Quantum processors would sit next to its CPUs and GPUs. “Joining forces with Classiq transforms Intel’s Quantum Computing Group into a full-stack quantum computing business,” said Lip-Bu Tan, Intel’s chief executive.

The price Intel left out, and the CEO’s old stake

Globes reports US$2.2 billion. Calcalist and Haaretz report US$2.3 billion, and Calcalist says it is a mix of cash and Intel shares. Globes says the gap is Classiq’s own cash, an estimated US$100 million. The old record, Calcalist notes, was IonQ’s roughly US$1 billion deal for Oxford Ionics last year.

There is a second thing the release leaves out. Tan put his own money into Classiq in February 2022, years before he ran Intel, CTech reports. People close to Classiq told CTech he stayed out of the deal talks. Intel’s release does not mention either point.

If you build quantum apps, or own Intel shares

For most of us, nothing changes today. The Classiq Intel acquisition needs approval from regulators and should close in the first half of 2027. Until then, the two firms run apart.

If you write quantum code, the key question is neutrality. Classiq works with many rival machines, and Intel promises to keep it “modality- and hardware-agnostic”, meaning open to every type of qubit. Watch whether that holds for pricing and for rival hardware after 2027.

If you own Intel shares, Intel reports its third-quarter results on 29 October. That is a good moment to listen for the cost and the plan.

Why the software bet makes sense, and where Intel quantum computing could stumble

So why is Intel buying Classiq? On balance, the logic is sound. Nobody yet knows which type of quantum machine will win. Owning the layer that runs on all of them lets Intel benefit whichever design comes out ahead. Tan once ran Cadence, a maker of chip-design software, so he knows how such tools can shape a whole industry. Intel itself compares Classiq to the design software that changed chips 40 years ago.

The risks are real too. Rival hardware makers may not like relying on software owned by a competitor. Intel’s record with Israeli deals is mixed: Globes notes that Granulate, a software firm it bought, was later shut down. Intel is still paying for a costly turnaround. And useful quantum computers are still years away, as Google’s Willow chip progress shows.

The likelier outcome is a patient, sensible bet, if Intel keeps Classiq truly open. It would also help trust if Intel explained clearly how its board handled the CEO’s stake.

What to watch before 2027

Three things matter for the Intel Classiq story now: what regulators say, whether rival quantum hardware makers keep working with Classiq, and whether Intel names a price. Chips made Intel. Software may decide whether quantum computing joins them.