Shares of International Business Machines (IBM) rose more than 4% in pre-market trading on Tuesday after the company announced a new partnership with Anthropic. The move strengthens IBM’s focus on artificial intelligence by bringing Anthropic’s Claude language models into its main software products, helping the company expand its presence in the enterprise AI market.
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IBM Deepens Its AI Integration
Under the agreement, IBM will start using Anthropic’s Claude AI models inside its own software and developer tools. This means IBM’s clients will be able to use Claude’s generative AI features directly within the company’s platforms. The first rollout will happen in IBM’s development environment, which is currently being tested by a small group of enterprise customers.
This move represents IBM’s latest step in its long-term strategy to blend AI directly into its product ecosystem, following the success of its watsonx platform earlier this year. The company said the collaboration with Anthropic is part of a broader initiative to make its software portfolio more “AI-native” for developers and businesses.
Market Reacts Positively
Investors welcomed the announcement, pushing IBM stock up 4.6% to $302.86 in pre-market trading. The gains came even as S&P 500 futures and the Nasdaq Composite remained largely unchanged. Analysts see the partnership as a strong signal that IBM intends to compete more aggressively with Microsoft (MSFT), Google (GOOGL), and Amazon (AMZN), all of which have made major AI investments through partnerships and proprietary model development.
Anthropic Partnership Could Strengthen IBM’s Edge
Anthropic’s Claude models are known for their ability to deliver safe, contextually rich responses, a feature that could give IBM an advantage among corporate clients prioritizing reliability and compliance in AI use. The partnership is expected to make IBM’s suite of development and enterprise tools more competitive in industries such as finance, healthcare, and government.
Analysts say the partnership could help IBM speed up the use of AI across its products, while giving Anthropic a strong foothold in the enterprise software market. As demand for AI continues to grow around the world, both companies are expected to benefit from their combined scale and experience.
Is IBM a Good Stock to Buy Today?
International Business Machines (IBM) continues to maintain a Moderate Buy consensus among analysts. Based on the latest data from the past three months, 12 Wall Street analysts have issued ratings on the stock, with five Buys, six Holds, and one Sell recommendation.
The average 12-month price target for IBM stands at $288.45, suggesting a slight 0.34% downside from its most recent price.
