Jane Edwards 
- IBM and OpenAI have partnered to help organizations deploy secure AI
- IBM will launch a dedicated OpenAI Practice
- The 2026 FedCiv Summit will discuss AI and other federal modernization priorities
IBM and OpenAI have partnered to help enterprises and government agencies securely deploy artificial intelligence across core operations and complex workflows.
As federal agencies pursue AI adoption in line with the priorities driving the IBM-OpenAI collaboration, government and industry leaders will gather at the Potomac Officers Club’s 2026 FedCiv Summit on Oct. 29 to discuss AI adoption, data and cloud infrastructure, cybersecurity, federal shared services, workforce enablement and more. Sign up now to gain firsthand insights from leaders shaping federal civilian modernization priorities.
IBM said Thursday the strategic partnership includes joint go-to-market initiatives and industry-specific AI solutions for sectors that include government, financial services, telecommunications and retail, along with enterprise functions such as procurement, finance, customer operations and human resources.
What Are the Key Focus Areas of the Partnership?
The collaboration between IBM and OpenAI will center on three focus areas:
- Transforming legacy operations into AI-ready workflows — IBM will integrate OpenAI’s GPT-5.6 model along with Codex and ChatGPT Work into IBM Consulting Advantage, its AI delivery platform, to help organizations redesign workflows and automate processes across finance, procurement, customer operations and human resources.
- Application modernization and product development — The companies will pair OpenAI’s Codex and ChatGPT Work with IBM’s industry and technology expertise to help clients modernize legacy applications and accelerate software development.
- Cybersecurity and AI risk management — Building on IBM’s role in the OpenAI Daybreak Cyber Partner Program, the companies will combine OpenAI’s frontier AI capabilities with IBM Autonomous Security, a multi-agent service designed to support coordinated threat detection, response and risk management.
IBM said it will bring forward-deployed teams of engineers and consultants trained through the OpenAI Partner Network to support AI implementation in complex and highly regulated environments, along with a dedicated OpenAI Practice staffed by consultants holding OpenAI Partner Network certifications. As part of the collaboration, IBM will join OpenAI’s Elite partner tier.
What Did IBM & OpenAI Officials Say About the Collaboration?
Andy Baldwin, global senior vice president of IBM Consulting, said enterprises are investing quickly in AI but need practical ways to apply it across core operations to deliver measurable outcomes and new commercial models.
“The challenge is not access to AI technologies — it’s integrating AI securely and at scale into complex enterprise environments and workflows. By embedding OpenAI’s technology with IBM Consulting’s AI assets, industry solutions, and cybersecurity capabilities, we can help clients accelerate secure, AI deployments at scale,” Baldwin stated.
Denise Dresser, chief revenue officer at OpenAI, said organizations that are advancing furthest with AI are the ones embedding it as a trusted part of business operations.
“IBM Consulting and OpenAI are helping organizations make that shift, combining deep transformation expertise to deploy AI that is secure, operational, and aligned with real business priorities,” Dresser added.
What Other AI Partnerships Have IBM & OpenAI Pursued for Government?
The collaboration adds to a broader run of AI partnerships involving IBM and OpenAI across the federal market. In June, IBM and Google Cloud stood up a joint practice to help government agencies and other regulated organizations move AI into production, modernize legacy systems and manage technology across hybrid environments. IBM also teamed with Groq to combine its watsonx Orchestrate agentic AI orchestration platform with Groq’s inference technology to help speed up customers’ agentic AI deployments.
OpenAI has separately expanded its federal presence through other recent partnerships. Booz Allen Hamilton and OpenAI announced a collaboration to advance mission-ready AI across national security and critical infrastructure. Accenture Federal Services and OpenAI entered a partnership to help federal agencies speed adoption of secure AI tools. Leidos and OpenAI also teamed up to advance AI tools supporting federal operations and national priorities.
