IBM is acquiring Confluent, a streaming data company centered on Apache Kafka, in an $11 billion deal to strengthen its AI data infrastructure and hybrid cloud platform, reflecting growing demand for real-time data to support AI workloads[1]. This acquisition signals IBM’s strategic push to enhance its AI capabilities by securing continuous, high-quality data streams critical for modern AI systems[1].

References:
1. https://techstartups.com/2025/12/08/technology-news-today-the-latest-in-tech-ai-startup-news-december-8-2025/
2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSxrL6gveNA
3. https://vavoza.com/this-weeks-top-tech-and-ai-news-recap-in-december-2025-vz5/
4. https://medium.acerbo.me/the-great-tech-pivot-of-december-2025-five-stories-that-will-shape-your-next-venture-9944cf5f449f
5. https://technologymagazine.com/magazine/technology-magazine-december-2025