The deal is scheduled to be completed in about six months, according to a statement from the companies.
For IBM, the acquisition of Confluent represents a major investment in the enterprise software needed to run AI tools. Confluent is a California-based provider of a platform that companies can use to collect, stream and analyze data in real time.
Under the deal, IBM will pay $31 per Confluent share. The news pushed Confluent's share price up 27 percent to $30.66 in futures trading on Wall Street. IBM shares fell 1.7 percent.
