On Thursday, IBM revealed its collaboration with OpenAI, aiming to introduce the AI company’s advanced models and tools to a wider range of business clients. This partnership provides OpenAI with the opportunity to tap into IBM’s extensive consulting network and engage with some of the biggest names in the industry as the competition for corporate AI investment heats up.
While the financial details of the agreement remain undisclosed, this partnership follows a similar one IBM announced with Anthropic less than a year ago. Together, OpenAI and IBM plan to market AI solutions and craft industry-specific applications for sectors such as financial services, government, telecommunications, and retail.
As part of this collaboration, IBM will create a dedicated practice for OpenAI within its consulting division and will focus on training tens of thousands of its consultants—most of whom are currently employed—on OpenAI’s technologies in the coming months, according to Mike Healy, managing partner at IBM Consulting.
The training will emphasize OpenAI’s Codex, API, cybersecurity features, and consultative solutions. Additionally, IBM plans to form a team of specialized “Forward Deployed Experts” who will receive training through OpenAI’s Partner Network, Healy noted.
IBM has expressed its intent to incorporate OpenAI’s latest models—including GPT-5.6, Codex, and ChatGPT Work—into IBM Consulting Advantage, its AI platform designed for consultants, to assist clients in implementing AI effectively within their core business functions.
This partnership marks another strategic move by OpenAI to enhance its enterprise offerings via consulting firms and technology collaborators, as the race among AI model developers is shifting from building superior models to attracting corporate clients and large-scale deployments. OpenAI has previously formed alliances with IT-services companies like Infosys and Tata Consultancy Services, highlighting a focus on collaborating with major global integrators to deliver its AI products to business customers.
For IBM, this agreement with OpenAI broadens its array of cutting-edge AI partnerships while supporting its model-agnostic strategy, which combines its own Granite AI models with third-party solutions. IBM has been positioning itself increasingly as an integrator of various AI models through its watsonx platform and consulting services.
This collaboration also aligns with IBM’s goal to accelerate growth in its AI segment, particularly after it revised its revenue projections for 2026 downward due to disappointing quarterly results. In the latest earnings call, Chief Executive Arvind Krishna asserted that AI will remain a key driver of growth, noting that AI adoption is enhancing—not replacing—demand for IBM’s mainframe offerings.
In June, IBM and OpenAI initiated a partnership focused on cybersecurity with the OpenAI Daybreak Cyber Partner Program. This new agreement builds upon that foundation by integrating OpenAI’s AI models into IBM’s Autonomous Security service, which leverages multi-agent-powered cybersecurity technology.
