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IBM partners with OpenAI to bolster enterprise AI push with a dedicated consulting practice
IBM has announced a partnership with OpenAI to bring OpenAI's models and tools to enterprise customers, establishing a dedicated OpenAI practice within IBM Consulting and training tens of thousands of consultants. The companies will integrate GPT-5.6, Codex, and ChatGPT Work into IBM Consulting Advantage and jointly develop industry-specific solutions.
IBM on Thursday announced a partnership with OpenAI to bring OpenAI's models and tools to more enterprise customers through IBM's global consulting business, opening another channel for OpenAI into the world's largest companies.
Under the agreement, IBM will establish a dedicated OpenAI practice within IBM Consulting and train and certify tens of thousands of consultants, primarily by retraining existing employees, on OpenAI's technologies over the next several months, Mike Healy, managing partner at IBM Consulting, told TechCrunch.
The training will focus on OpenAI's Codex, API, cybersecurity, and consultative solution credentials. IBM will also create a group of specialized Forward Deployed Experts trained through OpenAI's Partner Network.
IBM said it will integrate OpenAI's latest models, including GPT-5.6, Codex, and ChatGPT Work, into IBM Consulting Advantage, its AI platform for consultants, to help clients deploy AI across core business operations. The companies will jointly market AI offerings and develop industry-specific solutions for financial services, government, telecommunications, and retail.
The deal, whose terms were not disclosed, comes less than a year after IBM announced a similar alliance with Anthropic, and extends a June partnership for the OpenAI Daybreak Cyber Partner Program, with OpenAI models now also integrated into IBM Autonomous Security.
The partnership is the latest step in OpenAI's push to expand its enterprise business through consulting firms and systems integrators, following earlier deals with Infosys and Tata Consultancy Services, as competition among AI developers shifts from building capable models to winning corporate customers.
For IBM, the agreement fits its model-agnostic strategy of combining its Granite family with third-party models through watsonx, and arrives as the company works to accelerate AI growth after lowering its 2026 revenue forecast last month.
What to watch next: how quickly the OpenAI practice scales its certified consultant base, and whether IBM's multi-model positioning reshapes the balance of power in enterprise AI deals.
Sources
Why it matters
The deal strengthens OpenAI's enterprise distribution through global systems integrators and reinforces IBM's model-agnostic position as competition for corporate AI spending intensifies.
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