--- title: IBM to Acquire HRL Laboratories, the Storied Boeing and GM Lab, to Expand Its Quantum Computing Program description: IBM is acquiring HRL Laboratories, the Boeing and GM owned lab, to add silicon-spin qubit expertise to its quantum computing roadmap. author: Darie Nani (Editor-in-Chief) updated: 2026-07-25T02:19:13.084Z canonical: https://www.sovereignmagazine.com/article/ibm-acquires-hrl-laboratories-quantum image: https://cdn.nanimediahouse.com/ibm-quantum-lab-cryostats-30532.webp categories: Science & Tech content_type: News region: Global publication: Sovereign Magazine schema_type: Article --- IBM has signed a definitive agreement to acquire HRL Laboratories, a research and development lab in Malibu, California that has been jointly owned by Boeing and General Motors, the company said July 23. 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 will keep working with IBM on quantum applications after the transaction closes. HRL's history sets it apart from a typical single-idea quantum startup: founded to do contract research for the two industrial giants that owned it, the lab has spent decades developing sensors, high-speed and high-power communications hardware, electronics, advanced manufacturing techniques and materials science for both commercial and U.S. government customers. That breadth is unusual for a quantum acquisition target, and it points to what IBM is actually buying. ## What Silicon Spin Qubits Add to IBM's Quantum Roadmap IBM's own quantum computers, and its published roadmap through the Starling machine due in 2029 and the Blue Jay machine planned for the mid-2030s, are built on superconducting qubits, tiny circuits cooled to near absolute zero that IBM has spent years learning to fabricate, wire and error correct at scale. HRL's expertise lies elsewhere: silicon-spin qubits, which encode information in the spin of individual electrons trapped in silicon, a different physical basis than the superconducting loops IBM builds on. The two approaches are usually described as rivals, pursued by [different research groups and companies across the industry](https://www.sovereignmagazine.com/article/quantinuum-softbank-quantum-enterprise-use-cases-21706) as separate bets on which physical system will scale furthest. IBM's decision to buy rather than simply hire into spin qubits suggests the company wants a credible position in both, not proof that its superconducting bet has weakened. IBM has noted that superconducting and spin qubits both depend on advanced silicon fabrication, which gives it a shared manufacturing base to build from rather than two unconnected research efforts. > "Joining IBM is the natural next chapter for what we have built at HRL, where our team has dedicated years to exploring paths to how future quantum computers could be built at scales that today seem impossible." > — Rob Vasquez, President and CEO, HRL Laboratories ## Sensing and Materials Science Beyond the Qubit Quantum computing is only part of what HRL brings. The lab's sensing work is aimed at detecting subtle physical phenomena for life sciences, navigation, defense and scientific research, an area IBM has not built out on its own. Pairing that sensing expertise with IBM's materials science ambitions gives the company an entry point into quantum sensing and quantum networking alongside quantum computing itself, the three areas IBM Research director Jay Gambetta pointed to in describing the deal. The acquisition also lands two months after IBM said in May it would set up Anderon, described as America's first pure-play quantum wafer foundry, as a standalone company backed by the U.S. Department of Commerce. [IBM has said](https://newsroom.ibm.com/2026-07-23-ibm-to-acquire-hrl-laboratories-to-power-the-future-of-quantum) the HRL deal creates an opportunity to work more closely with Anderon, including developing spin qubit manufacturing there alongside its existing superconducting work, a step toward treating multiple qubit types as products of the same manufacturing pipeline rather than separate research tracks. ## What HRL's Leadership Says About the Deal Rob Vasquez, HRL's president and chief executive, described the move as a continuation of the lab's own research rather than an ending. He said the team has spent years pursuing paths to build future quantum computers at scales that once seemed impossible, and that the group will now carry that work forward inside IBM, on what he called fundamental infrastructure. Neither company has said what happens to HRL's non-quantum government and commercial research contracts once it becomes part of IBM, or how the lab's staff and facilities in Malibu will be organized inside IBM's existing research structure. Those details, along with the regulatory review, are likely to surface before the deal closes at the end of the third quarter. ## FAQ **Q: Is HRL owned by Boeing?** HRL Laboratories was jointly owned by Boeing and General Motors before the IBM deal was announced. Both companies are expected to continue partnering with IBM on quantum applications and other advanced technology work after the acquisition closes. **Q: What is a silicon-spin qubit?** A silicon-spin qubit encodes quantum information in the spin state of an electron held in silicon, an approach distinct from the superconducting circuits IBM has used to build its own quantum computers. IBM has said both approaches rely on advanced silicon fabrication, giving them a shared manufacturing foundation. **Q: What is IBM's quantum computing roadmap?** IBM's own stated roadmap centers on two machines built on its superconducting approach: Starling, due in 2029 and described by the company as 20,000 times more powerful than today's quantum computers and capable of 100 million quantum operations, followed in the mid-2030s by Blue Jay, which IBM says is projected to run 1 billion quantum operations.