Openai and IBM Announce AI Partnership With Consulting Practice and Model Integration

The deal, terms of which were not disclosed, comes less than a year after IBM announced a similar alliance with Anthropic. Under the agreement, IBM will establish a dedicated OpenAI practice within IBM Consulting and train and certify tens of thousands of consultants — primarily 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, Healy said. IBM said that it would 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.