Wedoany.com Reporth, On March 17, 2026, IBM announced it has completed the acquisition of the data streaming platform Confluent, Inc. Over 6,500 enterprises rely on this platform to support their real-time operations, including 40% of Fortune 500 companies. IBM and Confluent have jointly built an intelligent data platform designed to provide the real-time, trusted data required by AI models, agents, and automated workflows across on-premises and hybrid cloud environments.
As enterprises transition from AI experimentation to practical application, they often face challenges of fragmented and delayed data. The infrastructure provided by IBM and Confluent enables AI agents to access information in a controlled and real-time manner, supporting secure utilization at scale. IDC predicts that by 2028, over one billion new logical applications will emerge, driven by the new generation of AI, whose value creation depends on real-time, trusted data streams. The IBM and Confluent platform addresses this need, ensuring AI models and agents operate contextually in real-time across all environments.
"Transactions happen in milliseconds, and AI decisions need to be just as fast. With Confluent, we empower our clients to continuously move trusted data throughout their operations, enabling their AI models and agents to act based on what's happening now, not on stale data from hours ago," said Rob Thomas, Senior Vice President of IBM Software and Chief Commercial Officer. Built on the data streaming standard Apache Kafka®, Confluent is embedded in the operations of major global enterprises, with clients spanning sectors such as financial services, healthcare, and more.
Michelin uses Confluent to manage real-time inventory across its supply chain spanning 170 countries, achieving a 35% cost savings; L'Oréal streams real-time product and inventory updates through the platform to respond faster to consumer demand; the BMW Group streams IoT data in real-time from over 30 production sites, connecting factory floors and cloud applications; Ticketmaster streams ticketing data across hundreds of systems to support machine learning.
"Joining IBM allows us to accelerate this mission at a much greater scale," said Jay Kreps, CEO and Co-founder of Confluent. This acquisition brings product integrations, including AI-ready real-time data streaming into watsonx.data, and the combination of IBM Z with Confluent, enabling mission-critical transaction processing to be integrated in real-time. Under the terms of the agreement, IBM acquired Confluent for $31 per share in cash, representing an enterprise value of approximately $11 billion.
