By Khac Phu Nguyen
Publication Date: 2026-08-14 18:52:00
This article first appeared on GuruFocus.
International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM), the enterprise-tech heavyweight betting hard on AI and hybrid cloud, announced a major partnership with OpenAI. IBM shares still fell roughly 1.2% Friday morning. That reaction tells the story. Investors have heard plenty of AI promises. Now they want revenue. IBM is bringing GPT-5.6, Codex and ChatGPT Work into IBM Consulting Advantage, aiming straight at deep-pocketed customers across banking, government, telecom and retail. The opportunity is huge. The missing piece? IBM did not put a dollar sign on it.
And IBM is not treating this like a side project. Thousands of consultants and engineers are expected to receive advanced partner certifications, while a dedicated OpenAI practice will help customers rip through legacy applications, automate workflows and tackle cybersecurity headaches. IBM is also joining OpenAI’s Elite partner tier. That combination could be…