Snowflake announced a $200 million multi-year partnership with OpenAI on February 3, integrating GPT-5.2 and other models directly into its enterprise data platform. The deal makes OpenAI one of the primary model providers within Snowflake's Cortex AI environment, available to the company's 12,600 global customers.
OpenAI models will run natively within Snowflake's Intelligence and Cortex AI services across Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud. This eliminates the need for enterprises to move sensitive data to external AI services, keeping analysis within Snowflake's governed security framework.
The partnership focuses on "agentic AI" systems capable of handling complex workflows without human intervention. These AI agents can analyze structured and unstructured data using natural language queries while maintaining existing security and compliance controls.
Snowflake CEO Sridhar Ramaswamy stated the integration brings advanced AI models directly to where enterprise data already lives.
"Customers can now harness all their enterprise knowledge in Snowflake together with the world-class intelligence of OpenAI models," Ramaswamy said.
Early customers include design platform Canva and fitness wearable maker WHOOP. Both companies are already testing the technology for internal analytics and research applications.
Canva plans to explore how OpenAI models within Snowflake Cortex AI can support faster experimentation while maintaining performance and security.
The deal expands an existing relationship between the companies. OpenAI already uses Snowflake internally for experiment tracking and analytics, while Snowflake relies on ChatGPT Enterprise for employee productivity support.
This marks Snowflake's second major AI partnership in two months. The company inked a separate $200 million deal with OpenAI rival Anthropic in January, integrating Claude models into its Cortex AI platform. Combined, Snowflake has committed $400 million to AI partnerships since December.
The partnership reflects broader enterprise AI consolidation as data platforms compete to become primary AI deployment environments.
Rival Databricks continues to scale aggressively, recently raising $4 billion at a $134 billion valuation to fund its "Agentbricks" framework and AI product suite.
For regulated industries like financial services and healthcare, the integration addresses longstanding data protection concerns. Organizations can apply AI models to sensitive information while maintaining complete control over data residency and access permissions.
Snowflake's governance framework includes built-in business continuity, disaster recovery measures, and a 99.99% uptime service-level agreement. The Horizon Catalog provides responsible AI controls for managing how models interact with sensitive data.
The companies will jointly develop features using OpenAI's Apps SDK, AgentKit, and APIs tailored for enterprise workflows. Development and rollout will occur over several years, with no detailed timeline provided for all features.
Analysts view the partnership as significant for Snowflake's competitive positioning.
"Snowflake, in this trove of announcements, wins the year in data so far and furthers its transition from a specialized data warehouse to a comprehensive AI and application platform," said William McKnight, president of McKnight Consulting.
The announcement comes amid intensifying competition in the data and AI market. As enterprises move from AI experimentation to operational deployment, platforms that combine data management with integrated AI capabilities are gaining strategic importance.
For OpenAI, the partnership provides wider access to corporate customers seeking to deploy AI within existing enterprise systems. For Snowflake, it supports expansion beyond data storage into AI-based applications and agent development.
The collaboration represents a long-term bet on enterprise AI deployment where security and compliance matter as much as performance. It positions Snowflake as a bridge between enterprise data infrastructure and advanced AI capabilities for regulated industries.
