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IBM said the deal continues its focus in hybrid cloud and AI, while Hashicorp believes the deal will help it reach a much broader audience.
IBM has confirmed it is acquiring software company HashiCorp in a deal valued at $6.4bn, as it works to boost its products and expand its cloud business.
The two companies have entered into a definitive agreement, which will see IBM purchase HashiCorp for $35 per share in cash. IBM said the deal continues its “deep focus” on hybrid cloud and AI, which the company described as the “two most transformational technologies for clients”.
HashiCorp provides a suite of infrastructure automation products, which are designed to help customers operate their infrastructure in the cloud. The company claims its products are downloaded hundreds of millions of times each year and that it has partnered with thousands of customers since it was founded in 2012.
Armon Dadgar, CTO and co-founder of Hashicorp, said the deal will help the company expand to a “much broader audience”. He said Hashicorp will operate as a division inside IBM Software.
“By joining IBM, HashiCorp products can be made available to a much larger audience, enabling us to serve many more users and customers,” Dadgar said. “For our customers and partners, this combination will enable us to go further than as a standalone company.”
IBM claims HashiCorp’s products will lead to “significant synergies” across some of its strategic growth areas such as Red Hat, WatsonX, data security, IT automation and consulting. IBM chair and CEO Arvind Krishna said HashiCorp has a “proven track record” of enabling clients to manage the “complexity of today’s infrastructure and application sprawl”.
“Combining IBM’s portfolio and expertise with HashiCorp’s capabilities and talent will create a comprehensive hybrid cloud platform designed for the AI era,” Krishna said.
Last December, IBM acquired StreamSets and WebMethods to further its investment in AI and hybrid cloud, in a combined deal worth €2.13bn. Earlier in 2023, the tech giant revealed its generative AI creation, WatstonX, and was one of several companies to fund AI start-up Hugging Face.
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