IBM announced on Thursday that it has formed a partnership with OpenAI to bring the AI company’s models and tools to a wider range of enterprise clients. This move opens up another channel for OpenAI to reach some of the largest corporations worldwide through IBM’s global consulting network, as competition for corporate AI spending heats up. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, and it comes less than a year after IBM revealed a similar collaboration with Anthropic.

Under the agreement, OpenAI and IBM will jointly market AI offerings and create industry-specific solutions tailored to sectors such as financial services, government, telecommunications, and retail, according to IBM. The training efforts will center on OpenAI’s Codex, API, cybersecurity, and consultative solution capabilities. IBM will also establish a dedicated team of “Forward Deployed Experts” who will be trained through OpenAI’s Partner Network, as noted by Healy.

IBM also stated that it will integrate OpenAI’s latest models—including GPT-5.6, Codex, and ChatGPT Work—into IBM Consulting Advantage, its AI platform designed for consultants. This integration aims to help clients deploy AI across their core business operations more effectively.

This partnership is part of OpenAI’s broader push to expand its enterprise business through consulting firms and technology partners. As competition among AI model developers shifts from simply building more powerful models to winning corporate clients and large-scale implementations, OpenAI has already announced similar deals with IT services companies like Infosys and Tata Consultancy Services. This highlights a strategy of collaborating with major global systems integrators to deliver AI products to enterprise customers.

For IBM, the OpenAI agreement broadens its range of frontier AI partnerships as it continues a model-agnostic approach that blends its own Granite family of AI models with offerings from third-party developers. IBM has increasingly positioned itself as an integrator of multiple AI models through its watsonx platform and global consulting operations.

The partnership arrives at a time when IBM is seeking to speed up growth in its AI business. Last month, the company lowered its 2026 revenue forecast following weaker-than-expected quarterly results. During its most recent earnings call, Chief Executive Arvind Krishna reaffirmed that AI remains a long-term growth driver, noting that AI adoption is complementing—not replacing—demand for IBM’s mainframe business.

In June, IBM and OpenAI had already partnered on the cybersecurity-focused OpenAI Daybreak Cyber Partner Program. This new deal expands that relationship by integrating OpenAI’s AI models with IBM Autonomous Security, IBM’s multi-agent-powered cybersecurity service.