IBM (NYSE:IBM) has officially closed its $6.4 billion acquisition of HashiCorp (NASDAQ:HCP) after getting the green light from regulators in the U.S. and U.K.. The deal, first announced ten months ago, is a major step in IBM's push into AI and hybrid cloud services.

With demand for automated cloud infrastructure skyrocketing, IBM is betting big on HashiCorp's Terraform and Vault products, which help businesses configure and secure cloud environments. These tools are now part of IBM's automation software portfolio, positioning the company to support the creation of 1 billion cloud-native applications by 2028, according to IBM executive Rob Thomas.

The acquisition is just the latest in IBM's streak of high-profile deals. This week alone, IBM announced a partnership with Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM), a tie-up with Juniper Networks (NYSE:JNPR), and the acquisition of AI and data solutions provider DataStax. The company has also made big-ticket buys in recent years, including Red Hat ($34B in 2019) and Apptio ($4.6B in 2023).

As IBM's market cap soars past $240 billion, it's clear the company is doubling down on AI, hybrid cloud, and enterprise automationand HashiCorp's expertise in infrastructure automation is set to play a key role in that future.