IBM is expanding its enterprise AI offering through a new partnership with OpenAI, giving the AI company another route to reach large corporate customers through IBM’s global consulting business.

The agreement, announced Thursday, will see the two companies jointly market AI solutions and develop industry-specific offerings for financial services, government, telecommunications and retail. Financial terms were not disclosed. The deal comes less than a year after IBM announced a similar alliance with Anthropic.

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Training Thousands Of Consultants

As part of the partnership, IBM will establish a dedicated OpenAI practice within IBM Consulting and train and certify tens of thousands of consultants over the coming months. Most of those employees will be retrained on OpenAI technologies, according to Mike Healy, managing partner at IBM Consulting.

Training will cover OpenAI’s Codex, API and cybersecurity tools, as well as consulting-focused credentials. IBM will also establish a team of specialized “Forward Deployed Experts” trained through OpenAI’s Partner Network.

OpenAI’s latest models, including GPT-5.6, Codex and ChatGPT Work, will be integrated into IBM Consulting Advantage, IBM’s AI platform for consultants. The companies say the integration will help businesses deploy AI across core operations.

OpenAI Pushes Further Into Enterprise AI

The partnership is part of OpenAI’s broader effort to expand its enterprise business through consulting firms and technology partners. As competition in AI increasingly shifts toward winning corporate customers and large-scale deployments, the company has also partnered with Infosys and Tata Consultancy Services.

Working with major systems integrators gives OpenAI access to established corporate relationships and implementation expertise, helping it bring its products into large organizations.

IBM Maintains A Model-Agnostic Approach

For IBM, the agreement strengthens its portfolio of partnerships with leading AI developers. The company has been pursuing a model-agnostic strategy that combines its own Granite models with third-party systems through its watsonx platform and consulting operations.

The partnership also comes as IBM seeks to accelerate growth in its AI business. The company recently lowered its 2026 revenue forecast after weaker-than-expected quarterly results, although CEO Arvind Krishna has continued to describe AI as a long-term growth driver.

IBM has previously argued that AI adoption is complementing rather than replacing demand for its mainframe business.

Building On An Existing Relationship

The two companies already began working together in June through the OpenAI Daybreak Cyber Partner Program, focused on cybersecurity.

The latest agreement expands that relationship by bringing OpenAI’s models into IBM Autonomous Security, the company’s multi-agent cybersecurity service, while extending the partnership into a broader range of enterprise applications.