Snowflake and OpenAI are teaming up to help enterprises capitalize on their "most valuable asset"

OpenAI models and tools will now be embedded within the Snowflake Intelligence and Cortex platforms

Snowflake logo and branding pictured at Mobile World Congress 2024 in Barcelona, Spain.
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Snowflake and OpenAI have announced a $200 million multi-year partnership aimed at driving enterprise agentic AI adoption.

The tie-up builds on an existing partnership between the two companies, and according to Snowflake, will help customers derive “greater value" from in-house data and simplify agent adoption.

Key to this will be the integration of OpenAI models within the company’s flagship Cortex platform, which allows customers to build and deploy custom AI applications.

OpenAI models will now be available natively within the Cortex platform for the company’s 12,000+ customers, for example. Elsewhere, models including GPT-5.2 will also be accessible through Snowflake Intelligence, the firm’s enterprise agent platform.

Snowflake CEO Sridhar Ramaswamy said the partnership will allow customers to take advantage of their “most valuable asset”.

“Customers can now harness all their enterprise knowledge in Snowflake together with the world-class intelligence of OpenAI models, enabling them to build AI agents that are powerful, responsible, and trustworthy,” he said.

“Together, we’re setting a new standard for AI innovation, helping businesses transform with confidence, while maintaining strong security and compliance standards."

The deal with OpenAI comes just weeks after a similar tie-up with one of the company's key rivals in the generative AI space, Anthropic.

In early December, Snowflake announced a multi-year partnership with the firm – also valued at around $200 million – to integrate Anthropic's Claude models across the Cortex and Intelligence platforms.

What can Snowflake customers expect?

According to Snowflake, the partnership will help simplify custom agent development, an area OpenAI has focused heavily on over the last year.

In March last year, the firm announced the launch of a new ‘Agents Software Development Kit’ (SDK) aimed at streamlining the creation, deployment, and monitoring of agents.

The tool includes observability features that allow developers to see how agents are performing, allowing them to fine-tune and tweak based on individual needs.

Snowflake noted that the duo will work closely to integrate new SDK-based features within core products, including Cortex. Agents run directly on enterprise data, but many businesses face significant hurdles unlocking value from that data - largely due to poor quality or siloed environments.

Elsewhere, integration of GPT-5.2 within Snowflake Intelligence will also give users more granular insights into enterprise data, the company noted. The platform allows users to query and interpret both structured and unstructured data using natural language prompts.

“This partnership brings our advanced models directly into that environment, making it easier to deploy AI agents and apps, so businesses can close the gap between what AI is capable of and the value they can create today,” said Fidji Simo, CEO of applications at OpenAI.

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Ross Kelly
News and Analysis Editor

Ross Kelly is ITPro's News & Analysis Editor, responsible for leading the brand's news output and in-depth reporting on the latest stories from across the business technology landscape. Ross was previously a Staff Writer, during which time he developed a keen interest in cyber security, business leadership, and emerging technologies.

He graduated from Edinburgh Napier University in 2016 with a BA (Hons) in Journalism, and joined ITPro in 2022 after four years working in technology conference research.

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