OpenAI inks Dell deal to run Codex on‑prem for enterprise customers

OpenAI and Dell Technologies said on May 18 they are partnering to bring Codex into hybrid and on-premises enterprise environments, extending OpenAI’s coding product beyond cloud-only deployments. The companies said Dell will make Codex available through the Dell AI Data Platform and Dell AI Factory, with the pitch aimed at enterprises that want AI coding tools closer to internal data, systems and workflows. The announcement was made alongside Dell Technologies World in Las Vegas. OpenAI said the move is designed for customers that want to run AI coding agents in environments they control. ### Where exactly will Codex run in this deal? Dell said Codex will be connected to the Dell AI Data Platform and the Dell AI Factory, which are the company’s infrastructure and data products for enterprise AI workloads. In its May 18 newsroom announcement, Dell described the broader AI Factory update as a push to help customers move “from AI ambition to realized outcomes” with on-premises and hybrid infrastructure. OpenAI said the partnership is meant to help enterprises deploy Codex “in the environments where their most important data, systems, and workflows already live.” The company framed the offering as a way to place coding agents inside existing enterprise environments rather than requiring customers to move sensitive development work fully into the public cloud. ### What are OpenAI and Dell saying customers will use it for? (dell.com) OpenAI’s Codex product page says the system is built for planning, building features, refactors, reviews and releases across software projects. In the Dell partnership announcement, OpenAI said enterprise customers are using Codex for development and review workflows, while Dell’s event materials positioned the broader stack around secure AI agents and enterprise data access. (openai.com) Dell’s May 18 conference blog said the company is building an on-premises solution based on OpenAI Codex and connecting GPT and GPT-Codex models through the Dell AI Data Platform. That same post placed Codex alongside other model partnerships Dell highlighted at the event, including Google, Hugging Face, Palantir and ServiceNow integrations. ### Why does the on-premises piece matter to enterprise buyers? (openai.com) Dell said its AI announcements are aimed at customers that want to keep sensitive information in trusted on-premises, sovereign cloud or hybrid environments. In a separate ecosystem post, Dell said those deployments are meant to help enterprises maintain control over data, frontier models and operations while meeting data protection, residency and sovereignty requirements. (dell.com) OpenAI did not disclose pricing or a launch date for a standalone Dell-packaged Codex deployment in the materials reviewed. The companies instead described the partnership as a route for secure enterprise deployment, with Dell acting as the infrastructure layer and OpenAI supplying the coding product. ### How big is Codex inside OpenAI right now? OpenAI said Codex is becoming one of its fastest-growing enterprise products. (dell.com) In an April 2026 company post about scaling Codex, OpenAI said the product had reached 4 million weekly active users and was being deployed with consulting and services partners including Accenture, Capgemini, Cognizant, Infosys, PwC and Tata Consultancy Services. (openai.com) OpenAI also said on May 14 that it was expanding access to “work with Codex from anywhere,” including mobile access, indicating the company is broadening the product across both individual and enterprise workflows. The Dell partnership adds an infrastructure channel for customers that want Codex inside private or hybrid environments. ### What happens next? Dell Technologies World opened in Las Vegas on May 18, and Dell said the Codex integration is part of the new capabilities it is rolling out through the Dell AI Factory and AI Data Platform. (openai.com) OpenAI’s May 18 post and Dell’s event materials did not give a specific general-availability date, pricing sheet or customer list for the Codex-on-Dell deployment. (openai.com) OpenAI’s next public details are likely to appear on its Codex and company news pages, while Dell said the related enterprise infrastructure updates are being presented through its Dell Technologies World announcements and AI Factory materials. (openai.com) (dell.com)