Digital Colleagues: Sber Launches GigaChat Enterprise Partner Program
Partners – not just the bank itself – will now gain access to the tools, deployment capabilities, customization options, and support needed to roll out GenAI solutions.
Sber is not simply opening the doors to integrators and consultants – it is bringing them in as equal partners. The bank is not asking partners to resell GigaChat. Instead, it is bringing them into an active ecosystem focused on deploying and scaling it.
From Hypothesis to Impact
In Lipetsk, at the campus of Shkola 21, the first regional training hub – Business GigaHub – has launched to develop AI agents on the platform GigaChat Business. The program targets executives, analysts, and IT teams. Participants learn to build AI agents without writing code, configure RAG architectures, and estimate the economic impact of deployments. This is one example of Sber’s broader strategy.
Integrators gain access to Sber’s technology stack and expertise, along with marketing support. They no longer need to guess how to approach large clients with AI offerings – Sber helps with leads and promotion. More importantly, partners can deliver full-cycle projects. That includes development, customization, integration, and ongoing 24/7 support. Each stage becomes its own revenue stream.
Vladimir Tolmachyov, CEO of Salyut for Business, says the goal is to make access to advanced AI solutions simple, secure, and seamless: “That is why partnership development is strategically important for us. The combination of GigaChat Enterprise technologies and our partners’ applied expertise will allow Russian companies to access world-class solutions and move from testing ideas to measurable business impact much faster.”
Not Catching Up but Leaping Ahead
The race to build the “smartest AI” is effectively over. Russian LLMs and GenAI platforms have already moved into mainstream commercial use. The new competition is about scale of deployment. Whoever builds the ecosystem fastest wins. Sber executive Aleksandr Vibe says demand is growing so quickly that keeping up is no longer enough – companies need to move ahead of the curve.
What does this mean for the country? A domestic market for generative AI. Thousands of new roles for integrators and developers. For everyday users, the impact will be more subtle. Over time, banking apps, retail services, and call centers will simply start working better – faster, clearer, and more human.
Competitive Advantage
Sber launched GigaChat Enterprise as a corporate platform for building AI agents in March 2026. Just a month later, businesses gained access to its flagship model, GigaChat Ultra. This is no longer just an assistant – it acts as a full decision engine capable of executing code and running complex multi-agent systems. Performance has improved, and hybrid formats are now supported. Companies no longer have to choose between data security and speed of deployment.
In March 2026, Sber’s Moscow branch deployed GigaChat Enterprise at real estate developer AB Centrum. A major player in Moscow’s commercial real estate market, AB Centrum introduced an AI assistant that cut routine workload. Instead of processing endless documents and spreadsheets, employees shifted their focus to strategy.
AB Centrum CEO Gary Aleksanyan says the rollout created a real competitive edge: “Development is always about details, deadlines, and massive volumes of documentation. At times it feels like managing a statistics committee rather than a construction project. With GigaChat Business, the situation changed dramatically. We now have a ‘digital colleague’ that does not get tired, does not lose context, and helps keep the entire project pipeline under control.”
Globally, the market has followed a similar path – from building LLMs to developing partner ecosystems. Sber is moving in the same direction, adapted to the Russian market. This aligns with the 2024 – 2026 shift from hardware import substitution to software independence.
A Wave of Deployments
Bringing in external partners signals maturity. Sber is not positioning itself solely as a developer. It aims to become the leading enterprise AI vendor in Russia. Over the next year, a surge of industry-specific deployments is likely. The winner will not be the company with the smartest model – although GigaChat Ultra is highly competitive – but the one that builds the strongest partner network and offers clear economic value.
Aleksandr Vibe has set an explicit target. By the end of 2026, half of all GigaChat Enterprise deployments should be delivered through partners. Multiple engagement tiers are available – from newcomers to advanced players. Each stage offers its own incentives, from initial contracts to complex industry-scale projects.
