IBM has reached an agreement to acquire Confluent, a company developing streaming data processing solutions based on the open-source Apache Kafka platform. Confluent was founded in 2014 by the creators of Apache Kafka and, following its IPO in 2021, reached a market capitalization of $10 billion. The IBM deal is valued at $11 billion ($31 per share). Notably, the Apache Kafka platform was originally developed by LinkedIn as an internal product, which was open-sourced and donated to the Apache Foundation in 2011. In 2016, LinkedIn was acquired by Microsoft for $26 billion.
Following the acquisition, Confluent will continue to operate as a separate division and retain its brand. Together with IBM, the company plans to create a data processing platform optimized for deploying AI solutions, enabling real-time streaming data processing and simplifying data access across clouds and microservices. The platform will integrate applications, analytics platforms, AI agents, and data storage and processing systems to improve functionality and resilience in hybrid cloud environments.
Source: opennet.ru
