- Confluent is acquired by IBM for $11 billion in cash ($31 per share)
- IBM wants to expand its cloud, data and AI infrastructure offerings
- Confluent’s total addressable market and revenue have increased sharply
IBM has confirmed plans to buy data streaming company Confluent in a deal worth $11 billion – equivalent to $31 per share.
The deal means IBM values Confluent around 34% higher than the stock prices suggested before the announcement, and it marks an important step in IBM’s strategy to expand cloud, data and AI infrastructure offerings.
In particular, Confluent specializes in managing large, real-time data streams present in AI workflows — as IBM hopes to build a smart data platform for generative and agent AI.
IBM buys Confluent for $11 billion
“With the acquisition of Confluent, IBM will deliver the smart data platform for enterprise IT, purpose-built for AI,” commented IBM CEO Arvind Krishna.
In a press release, IBM cited IDC data suggesting that more than a billion new logic applications could emerge by 2028. “These applications, as well as AI agents, need access to connected and 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 — this was after a 20% increase in the previous quarter, and a 25% increase prior to that.
CFO Rohan Sivaram credited the positive numbers to the “momentum of [its] data streaming platform.”
Discussions with IBM about a sale of the company are believed to have started during its most recent quarter.
“Since its founding, Confluent has helped organizations unlock the full potential of their data and drive innovation in an increasingly complex IT landscape,” said CEO Jay Kreps in connection with the acquisition agreement.
IBM expects to complete the transaction in mid-2026.
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