Oracle Pledges $1B Over Four Years to Partners Selling AI

Oracle will spend $1B over the next four years on the companies that build, sell and install its software, the company said on Thursday at its AI World conference in Las Vegas. The goal is to help partners benefit from rising demand for AI.

The money goes into Oracle's partner programme. It covers training and certification, test and demo environments, funding to move customers onto Oracle's cloud, and support for sales through Oracle Marketplace, the company's online store for business software.

Marketplace changes

Oracle also changed how Marketplace works. Customers can now apply more of their prepaid Oracle cloud credits to partners' products, and software makers can agree prices directly with buyers. Marketplace buying is also opening up in India and Japan.

Partners include consulting firms, software makers, cloud providers and resellers. Some build their own apps and AI agents on Oracle's databases and cloud, while others help customers set up and run Oracle software. In July, Oracle added Google's Gemini models to the tool its business-app customers use to build AI agents.

"Our partners extend our sales reach, expand our delivery capacity, and bring their own innovation and investment," said Mark Hura, president of Oracle Global Field Operations.

A small sum next to AI spending

The pledge is modest compared with Oracle's wider AI push. The company spent about $50B on capital projects in its last financial year and shed about 21,000 jobs as it moved money into cloud and AI data centres. In September, it set aside a further $700M for job cuts it has yet to make. In July, S&P cut Oracle's credit rating to one notch above junk, citing the cash it is burning.

For partners, the practical value will depend on details Oracle has not yet given. The company did not say how the $1B will be divided, and said all benefits depend on its programme terms and eligibility rules.