Arvind Krishna, IBM CEO, on Big Bets, AI, and Quantum

What does it take to make big bets inside a public company? In this episode of The CEO Signal, IBM Chairman and CEO Arvind Krishna discusses how he thinks about major strategic decisions at a moment of rapid technological change — from hybrid cloud to AI and quantum. At the center of the conversation is IBM’s acquisition of Red Hat — a decision Krishna helped drive before becoming CEO, and one that reveals how he thinks about conviction, resistance, and making a consequential call before the outcome is obvious. Krishna explains why IBM chose to bet on hybrid cloud rather than try to become another hyperscale player, how he thinks about large strategic bets inside a public company, and how that logic now shapes IBM’s approach to AI and quantum computing. He also lays out the case for a more hybrid AI future, a larger role for domain-specific models, and a quantum shift he believes business leaders should already be preparing for. About the show The CEO Signal is Semafor’s interview platform for conversations with the global CEOs whose decisions are shaping the future of the new world economy. Hosted by Penny Pritzker and Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson, the show explores the moments of judgment that define leadership. Penny Pritzker is the founder and chairman of PSP Partners and served as U.S. Secretary of Commerce from 2013 to 2017. Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson is CEO Editor at Semafor and a veteran Financial Times journalist who has spent decades covering global companies and corporate leadership.