IBM and OpenAI have formed a strategic partnership aimed at accelerating the deployment of artificial intelligence within large enterprises, as announced by IBM on August 13, 2026. This collaboration will involve integrating OpenAI's frontier models, such as GPT-5.6, Codex, and ChatGPT Work, into IBM Consulting Advantage, IBM's AI platform for delivering consulting services. A core component of the agreement is the establishment of a dedicated OpenAI Practice within IBM Consulting. This new practice will focus on training and certifying thousands of IBM consultants and engineers on OpenAI's technologies. Mike Healy, a managing partner at IBM Consulting, stated that the company intends to train and certify tens of thousands of consultants on OpenAI technology in the coming months, primarily through reskilling existing staff.
The partnership seeks to address a key challenge in enterprise AI adoption: the scarcity of specialized expertise required for complex AI implementation. IBM will deploy specialized units of engineers and consultants, trained through the OpenAI Partner Network, to work directly with clients. These "Forward Deployed Experts" will help organizations convert legacy workflows into AI-ready operations and embed AI into daily business processes. The training programs will cover areas such as OpenAI's API, Codex, and cybersecurity.
The collaboration will target specific industry sectors, including financial services, government, telecommunications, and retail. It will also focus on key enterprise domains such as finance, procurement, customer operations, and human resources. By embedding OpenAI models into IBM Consulting Advantage, the companies aim to help organizations modernize applications, accelerate software development, and enhance security. For example, the integration of OpenAI Codex and ChatGPT Work with IBM's industry expertise is intended to simplify engineering processes and speed the delivery of new digital products.
This partnership expands on an existing cybersecurity collaboration between IBM and OpenAI. IBM previously joined the OpenAI Daybreak Cyber Partner Program in June 2026. The current agreement deepens this focus by combining OpenAI's frontier AI capabilities with IBM Autonomous Security, a multi-agent-powered service designed for coordinated decision-making and and response to cyber threats. The goal is to help clients manage both cyber and AI model risks, including application-layer vulnerabilities and governance gaps that can hinder AI adoption.
IBM's strategy involves a model-agnostic approach, meaning it integrates various AI models from different vendors alongside its own Granite family of models. This partnership with OpenAI complements IBM's existing collaborations, such as a prior agreement with Anthropic to bring Claude models into IBM software and a partnership with Google Cloud to expand IBM Consulting Advantage with the Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform. OpenAI also gains an additional channel to large enterprise customers through IBM's global consulting business. The financial terms of the partnership were not disclosed.