History of IBM in Timeline

IBM, also known as Big Blue, is a multinational technology corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, operating in over 175 countries. As a publicly traded company listed on the Dow Jones Industrial Average, it stands as the world's largest industrial research organization. IBM has consistently been a leader in innovation, holding the record for the most annual U.S. patents for 29 consecutive years (1993-2021). With 19 research facilities worldwide, IBM plays a significant role in advancing technology and artificial intelligence.

1954: Mainframe Computer Sales

Since 1954, IBM sells mainframe computers.

1990: Release of Power Microprocessors

In 1990, IBM released the Power microprocessors, which were designed into many console gaming systems, including Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Nintendo's Wii U.

1990: Honor Award from the National Building Museum

Van der Rohe's building in Chicago was recognized with the 1990 Honor Award from the National Building Museum.

2008: IBM Occupies Pangu Plaza Overlooking Beijing Olympics

In Beijing, China, IBM occupies Pangu Plaza, overlooking Beijing National Stadium ("Bird's Nest"), home to the 2008 Summer Olympics.

2009: Ownership of SPSS

Since 2009, IBM has owned SPSS, a software package used for statistical analysis in the social sciences.

2011: SoftLayer Hosting Servers

In 2011, IBM SoftLayer reported hosting more than 81,000 servers for more than 26,000 customers.

2011: Watson Debuts on Jeopardy!

In 2011, IBM Watson debuted on the American game show Jeopardy!, where it competed against champions Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter and won.

2011: Berkshire Hathaway's Investment

In 2011, IBM became the first technology company Warren Buffett's holding company Berkshire Hathaway invested in, initially buying 64 million shares.

2014: Sale of x86 Server Division and Major Partnerships

In 2014, IBM announced the sale of its x86 server division to Lenovo for $2.1 billion and began forming major partnerships with companies like Apple Inc., Twitter, Facebook, Tencent, Cisco, UnderArmour, Box, Microsoft, VMware, CSC, Macy's, Sesame Workshop and Salesforce.com.

2014: Revelation of TrueNorth and Investment in Neural Chip

In 2014, IBM revealed TrueNorth, a neuromorphic CMOS integrated circuit, and announced a $3 billion investment over the following five years to design a neural chip.

2014: Accusations of Financial Engineering

In 2014, IBM was accused of using "financial engineering" to hit its quarterly earnings targets rather than investing for the longer term.

2014: Martin Schroeter appointed CFO

In 2014, Martin Schroeter, who was later appointed CEO of Kyndryl, became IBM's CFO.

2015: Acquisitions and Molecule Movie

In 2015, IBM announced three major acquisitions: Merge Healthcare for $1 billion, data storage vendor Cleversafe, and all digital assets from The Weather Company, including Weather.com and The Weather Channel mobile app. Also in 2015, IBM employees created the film A Boy and His Atom.

April 2016: 14-Year Low in Quarterly Sales

In April 2016, IBM posted a 14-year low in quarterly sales.

2016: Operations in 174 Countries

As of 2016, IBM operates in 174 countries with mobility centers in smaller market areas and major campuses in the larger ones.

2016: Offerings in Various Tech Categories

As of 2016, IBM's offerings fall into the categories of cloud computing, artificial intelligence, commerce, data and analytics, Internet of things (IoT), IT infrastructure, mobile, digital workplace and cybersecurity.

2016: Acquisition of Truven Health Analytics

In 2016, IBM acquired Truven Health Analytics for $2.6 billion.

2016: Launch of All-Flash Arrays

In 2016, IBM launched all-flash arrays designed for small and midsized companies, which includes software for data compression, provisioning, and snapshots across various systems.

2017: Reduction in IBM Holdings by Berkshire Hathaway

By the end of 2017, Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway had reduced its IBM holdings by 94.5% to 2.05 million shares.

2017: Martin Schroeter leaves IBM as CFO

Martin Schroeter ceased being IBM's CFO at the end of 2017.

May 2018: Berkshire Hathaway Exits IBM

By May 2018, Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway had completely exited its investment in IBM.

October 2018: Announcement of Red Hat Acquisition

In October 2018, IBM announced its intention to acquire Red Hat for $34 billion.

January 2019: Introduction of IBM Q System One

In January 2019, IBM introduced its first commercial quantum computer: IBM Q System One.

July 9, 2019: Completion of Red Hat Acquisition

On July 9, 2019, IBM completed its acquisition of Red Hat for $34 billion.

February 2020: Pledge for Ethical AI with the Vatican

In February 2020, IBM's John Kelly III joined Brad Smith of Microsoft to sign a pledge with the Vatican to ensure the ethical use and practice of Artificial Intelligence (AI).

March 2020: Announcement of Europe's First Quantum Data Center

In March 2020, it was announced that IBM would build Europe's first quantum data center in Ehningen, Germany.

June 2020: Exiting the Facial Recognition Business

In June 2020, IBM announced that it was exiting the facial recognition business.

October 2020: Divestiture of Managed Infrastructure Services into Kyndryl

In October 2020, IBM announced it would divest the Managed Infrastructure Services unit of its Global Technology Services division into a new public company named Kyndryl.

2020: IBM's Ranking on Fortune 500

IBM ranked No. 38 on the 2020 Fortune 500 rankings of the largest United States corporations by total revenue.

2021: Acquisition of Turbonomic

In 2021, IBM announced the acquisition of the enterprise software company Turbonomic for $1.5 billion.

January 2022: Sale of Watson Health

In January 2022, IBM announced it would sell Watson Health to private equity firm Francisco Partners.

March 7, 2022: Suspension of Business in Russia

On March 7, 2022, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, IBM CEO Arvind Krishna announced the suspension of all business in Russia and the removal of all Russian articles from the IBM website.

May 2022: Strategic Collaboration Agreement with Amazon Web Services

In May 2022, IBM announced a multi-year Strategic Collaboration Agreement with Amazon Web Services to make a wide variety of IBM software available as a service on AWS Marketplace.

2022: Collaboration with Rapidus

In late 2022, IBM started a collaboration with new Japanese manufacturer Rapidus.

March 31, 2023: Vanguard Group's Shareholding

As of March 31, 2023, Vanguard Group held 15.7% of total shares outstanding in IBM, making them the largest shareholder.

May 2023: Revelation of Watsonx

In May 2023, IBM revealed Watsonx, a Generative AI toolkit that is powered by IBM's own Granite models with option to use other publicly available LLMs.

August 2023: Agreement to Sell The Weather Company

In August 2023, IBM agreed to sell The Weather Company to Francisco Partners for an undisclosed sum.

November 16, 2023: Suspension of Ads on Twitter

On November 16, 2023, IBM suspended ads on Twitter after ads were found next to pro-Nazi content.

December 2023: Acquisition of StreamSets and webMethods

In December 2023, IBM announced it would acquire Software AG's StreamSets and webMethods platforms for €2.13 billion ($2.33 billion).

February 1, 2024: Finalization of The Weather Company Sale

On February 1, 2024, the sale of The Weather Company to Francisco Partners was finalized for $1.1 billion.

May 2024: Market Capitalization Value

As of May 2024, IBM's market capitalization was valued at over $153 billion.

October 2024: Introduction of Granite 3.0

In October 2024, IBM introduced Granite 3.0, an open-source large language model designed for enterprise AI applications.

2024: Consulting Business Value

As of 2024, IBM's consulting business was valued at $20 billion.

2024: Sale of The Weather Company

In 2024, The Weather Company, which includes weather.com and Weather Underground, was sold by IBM.

2024: Release of IBM z17

In 2024, the most recent model of IBM mainframe computer, the IBM z17, was released.

2024: Opening of Quantum Data Center in Germany

In 2024, the quantum data center built by IBM in Ehningen, Germany, was opened.

June 2025: Involvement in Israel's Surveillance Apparatus

In June 2025, IBM was named in a UN expert report as one of several companies "central to Israel's surveillance apparatus and the ongoing Gaza destruction."