As AI development has accelerated over the past decade, few enterprises have been as central to its progress as IBM.

When Watson first took the stage, it marked the start of a bold experiment in machine intelligence — one that has since become a defining force in enterprise innovation.

This year at The AI Summit New York will see IBM return alongside other tech leaders to discuss the ideas shaping the future of responsible AI. It’s the perfect moment to reflect on how far the company has come and how it continues to refine its approach.

Transformation — from “+AI” to “AI+”

For IBM, one of the most defining shifts of the past decade has been the move from “+AI” to “AI+.” It marks the transition from simply adding AI to existing products to building products around AI from the ground up.

It’s a change that’s led to far deeper integration — from individual use cases to a company-wide drive for greater intelligence in everything they do. 

As such, IBM’s focus today isn’t on deploying isolated models but on embedding learning systems into the heart of business operations, where they can inform, predict and act in real time.

From data governance and automation to security and sustainability, this philosophy of “AI+” runs through IBM’s entire technology stack, ensuring every system learns responsibly, performs reliably and contributes to a smarter, more connected enterprise.

Recent IBM innovation milestones

watsonx (2023)

A major step in democratizing trustworthy AI for the enterprise. Watsonx gave teams an AI studio to build, train and deploy models with governance built in and inject explainability, transparency and control to every stage of the AI lifecycle.

Granite (2024)

IBM’s family of foundation models is designed for business-critical use. Granite models are trained on curated enterprise data and tuned for the realities of regulated industries, where precision, compliance and context matter just as much as performance.

Open, trusted and industry-ready (2023–2025)

Alongside new technology, IBM has deepened its commitment to open innovation and responsible design. The company expanded watsonx.governance, strengthened collaborations with partners such as Anthropic and Hugging Face, and embedded ethical, transparent AI into the core of industry-specific systems.

Agentic AI (2025)

Representing the next evolution of enterprise automation, IBM’s work in agentic systems moves AI beyond recommendation and into execution. These autonomous systems can make decisions, take action and continuously learn from real-world feedback.

Impact — operationalizing AI safely and at scale

With enterprise clients across finance, healthcare, energy and government, scaling AI for IBM has always been about trust. Explainability, compliance and transparency must underpin every deployment, because accuracy and accountability aren’t optional in these industries, even when they’re attempting to push the boundaries of possibility with AI.

By combining strong data foundations with open innovation, IBM helps organizations create AI systems that don’t just work in the lab but perform safely in the wild. And in doing so, they deliver measurable outcomes across efficiency, resilience and customer experience.

Partnerships in action

Ferrari: Precision and performance

From the pit lane to the cloud, IBM’s data and AI solutions help Ferrari make faster, smarter race-day decisions. Real-time telemetry, predictive analytics and high-performance computing come together to fine-tune strategy and extract every possible advantage on the track.

UFC: Fan engagement and real-time insights

In the Octagon, who wins the match is only part of the story — audience energy tells the rest. IBM’s AI models analyze live data and fan sentiment across platforms, turning raw engagement into insights that shape broadcast storytelling and deliver more personalized viewing experiences.

Anthropic: Safety, alignment and open collaboration

IBM’s partnership with Anthropic reinforces a shared commitment to building AI that’s transparent, accountable and aligned with human values. Together, they’re advancing open research and governance frameworks that make responsible innovation scalable.

What IBM’s bringing to The AI Summit New York 2025

At The AI Summit this year, IBM will spotlight how its ecosystem of models, partners and platforms is helping enterprises operationalize AI with confidence and responsibility. 

So, expect live demonstrations of watsonx in action, deep-dive discussions on governance and transparency, and fresh perspectives on how agentic systems are reshaping the future of automation.

It’s both a celebration of how far the field has come and a reminder that trust, openness and tangible impact remain the cornerstones of meaningful progress.

“The AI Summit energizes us to keep pushing the boundaries of AI for our clients and our partners.”