HPE Completes Acquisition of Juniper Networks, Signaling Game-Changing Move in AI-Driven Networking Solutions

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) has officially announced the completion of its acquisition of telecommunications equipment manufacturer Juniper Networks. This merger positions HPE to leverage the expanding opportunities in the artificial intelligence and hybrid cloud markets. HPE aims to develop a leading portfolio of IT solutions driven by AI and cloud technologies, which will encompass a comprehensive and modern networking stack.

The acquisition is set to double HPE’s networking business and provide clients with an extensive array of networking solutions. It is expected to accelerate the company’s transition toward additional profit growth.

Rami Rahim, the former CEO of Juniper Networks, remarked, «HPE and Juniper have a unique chance to revolutionize the networking sector at this crucial and timely moment.” He will head the consolidated HPE Networking division. According to Rahim, the two firms together will be able to offer customers and partners a secure network that is developed with and for AI.

In January 2024, HPE announced the purchase of Juniper, with media reports estimating the deal’s value at around $14 billion. However, by the end of January, the U.S. Department of Justice blocked the acquisition, ruling that it would reduce competition in the American networking equipment market.

In the summer of 2024, the European Commission approved the HPE-Juniper deal, concluding that the acquisition «would not pose competitive issues in the European Economic Area.» A similar ruling came in August from the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority. By the end of June 2025, the parties received approval for the merger from the U.S. Department of Justice. As part of the agreement with regulators, HPE committed to selling its Instant On wireless LAN campus and its branch networking switch business.

Additionally, the Department mandated that HPE license the underlying AI Ops source code for Juniper’s Mist platform. This will occur through an auction, with the license being «perpetual, non-exclusive, and including additional transitional support and staff transfer to foster competition.»

Founded in 1996, Juniper is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, providing routers, switches, network management software, security products, and Software-Defined Networking (SDN) solutions.

HPE emerged from a spin-off of HP in 2015, offering switches through its Aruba Networks division, which was acquired just before the separation. Since then, HPE has acquired several companies, including SGI, Cray, SimpliVity, and Nimble Storage.