OpenAI's Dresser reveals secret weapon in heated AI war with rival Anthropic

OpenAI has launched a $4 billion enterprise unit, embedding its engineers within client companies to accelerate AI adoption.

According to CNBC, OpenAI announced its new professional services business on Monday. The move included the acquisition of applied AI consulting firm Tomoro.

The new venture is The OpenAI Deployment Company. It is majority-owned by the AI giant and backed by 19 powerful investment and consultancy firms.

"Think about the complex workflows... this structure of this company is going to allow us to do that at speed and scale," Dresser told the publication.

The acquisition of Tomoro brings 150 engineers into OpenAI's fold. They specialise in deploying frontier AI models to solve complex real-world business problems.

The move tackles a well-known industry challenge. A recent survey found 75 per cent of executives admit their company's AI strategy is "more for show".

OpenAI's COO Brad Lightcap recently highlighted this "capability overhang". He said enterprise AI has not yet truly penetrated core business processes.

These "forward-deployed engineers" are OpenAI's strategic answer. They will embed within client organisations to build production-grade software.

"Forward-deployed engineers can sit with an organisation, sit with their users, understand the workflow," Dresser explained to the outlet.

He said they connect back-office apps to the model. This is key to "really building intelligence in terms of each of the workflow".

This hands-on approach aligns with the company's stated 2026 focus. CFO Sarah Friar said the priority is now on "practical adoption" of the technology.

Despite adoption challenges, the AI leader's financial outlook remains remarkably strong. It expects an annualised revenue of over $20 billion by the end of 2025.

Dresser's comments come as the battle for enterprise clients intensifies. OpenAI faces stiff competition from Google's Gemini and a rapidly expanding Anthropic.

Just last week, rival Anthropic announced it was partnering with heavyweight firms. Goldman Sachs and Blackstone are backing its new venture to boost AI adoption.

The two firms are helping launch a $1.5 billion company. It aims to accelerate the rollout of artificial intelligence across hundreds of global companies.