Nvidia Invests $1 Billion in Nokia to Accelerate AI-Powered 6G Networks

Nvidia to Invest $1 Billion in Nokia in AI Networking Push

Nvidia Corp. plans to make a $1 billion equity investment in Nokia Oyj, an apparent vindication of the Finnish company's pivot from mobile networking kit into artificial intelligence by the sector's kingmaker. Nokia will issue about 166 million shares to Nvidia at $6.01 apiece, giving Nvidia a 2.9% stake in the Finnish company, the companies said in a statement on Tuesday. Nvidia's chips will be used to accelerate Nokia's software for 5G and 6G networks and Nvidia will explore ways to use Nokia's data center technology in its AI infrastructure, they said.

Nvidia invests $1 billion in Nokia to push AI to the edge

The pair intends to develop cellular infrastructure for running edge AI workloads Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang on Tuesday announced a partnership with Nokia to integrate AI technology into its mobile network infrastructure, bringing accelerated computing to the edge and paving the way for 6G-ready networks. As part of the deal, Nvidia will invest $1 billion in Nokia. Team Green's gear will boost spectral efficiency and make AI inference more accessible from mobile devices. Speaking at the company's GTC conference in Washington, DC, Huang said, "This is a brand new opportunity. Remember, the internet enabled communications. But amazingly smart companies, AWS, built a cloud computing system on top of the internet. We are now going to do the same thing on top of the wireless telecommunications network. This new cloud will be an edge, industrial, robotics cloud." Nvidia's deal with Nokia, one of the largest telecom equipment vendors in the world, will give the company access to Nvidia's AI-RAN products, which make AI available to radio access networks to improve spectral efficiency (AI for RAN) and also will make AI available via cloud computing for wireless communications (AI on RAN). And Nokia will ensure that its 5G and 6G software runs on Nvidia hardware. The partnership comes with a $1 billion Nvidia investment in Nokia, which lifted the telecom company's shares more than 25 percent in the hours after the announcement. Nvidia has also recently announced investments in Intel ($5 billion) and OpenAI ($100 billion). The GPU biz has a lot of spare change lying around. "Telecommunications is a critical national infrastructure - the digital nervous system of our economy and security," said Huang in a statement. "Built on Nvidia CUDA and AI, AI-RAN will revolutionize telecommunications - a generational platform shift that empowers the United States to regain global leadership in this vital infrastructure technology." In conjunction with the partnership, Nvidia is rolling out Aerial RAN Computer Pro (ARC-Pro), a 6G-ready accelerated computing platform for telecommunication companies. "ARC is built from three fundamental new technologies: the Grace CPU, the Blackwell GPU, and our Mellanox ConnectX networking designed for this application," said Huang during his keynote. "... Aerial is essentially a wireless communication system running atop CUDA-X." Nvidia and Nokia expect to develop infrastructure that will allow telecom providers to run distributed edge AI inferencing workloads at scale. According to Nvidia, almost half of ChatGPT's 800 million weekly active users access the site via mobile devices. "The next leap in telecom isn't just from 5G to 6G - it's a fundamental redesign of the network to deliver AI-powered connectivity, capable of processing intelligence from the data center all the way to the edge," said Nokia president and CEO Justin Hotard in a statement. "Our partnership with Nvidia, and their investment in Nokia, will accelerate AI-RAN innovation to put an AI data center into everyone's pocket." Nokia and Nvidia say that they intend to work together on AI networking solutions, such as data center switching. This will involve Nokia's SR Linux software for the Nvidia Spectrum-X Ethernet networking platform and adapting Nokia's telemetry and fabric management system to Nvidia AI hardware. T-Mobile US intends to work with the two companies as part of its effort to deploy 6G wireless technology, scheduled to begin testing in 2026. And Dell will also be participating through the provision of Dell PowerEdge servers to run the AI-RAN system. Nvidia suggests, with no small amount of self-interest, that investing in infrastructure to run AI workloads on mobile networks is like purchasing a money multiplication machine. "One estimate suggests that telco operators can earn roughly $5 in AI inference revenue from every $1 invested in new AI radio access network (AI-RAN) infrastructure," the company said in a blog post earlier this month. Separately, Nvidia said it plans to work with Oracle to build an AI supercomputer for the US Department of Energy. The Solstice system is expected to incorporate 100,000 Nvidia Blackwell GPUs. It is not clear when that machine will debut, but Nvidia said another supercomputer, dubbed Equinox, fitted with 10,000 Blackwell GPUs, is scheduled to be ready during the first half of 2026. Solstice and Equinox will be housed at Argonne National Laboratory, and the expectation is that they'll be connected via Nvidia networking to provide 2,200 exaflops of AI performance. That's a lot of hallucination. ®

Nvidia to invest $1bn into Nokia as chip giant extends deal spree

Nvidia plans to invest $1bn into telecoms operator Nokia in a move that will see the US chip giant become one of the Finnish group's largest shareholders and marks a strong endorsement of its strategy to diversify into artificial intelligence. Nokia said in a statement on Tuesday that Nvidia's strategic investment will see the two companies work together to incorporate AI into telecoms networks and collaborate on data centre infrastructure. Nvidia will take a 2.9 per cent stake in the telecoms group in return for its investment, with Nokia issuing 166,389,351 new shares directly to Nvidia. Nokia's shares surged 15 per cent in the minutes following the announcement on Tuesday afternoon. Nvidia's investment is an apparent vindication of Nokia's strategy of diversifying away from network infrastructure towards AI and cloud services. Since Justin Hotard -- a former Intel executive -- took over as Nokia chief executive in April, the company's share price has soared to a five-year high. The agreement will see Nokia use Nvidia's technology to upgrade its 5G and 6G products and move towards a strategic goal of enhancing its presence in the AI and cloud markets. Nokia is aiming to make breakthroughs in the development of the next generation of ultrafast wireless technology known as 6G. The tie-up marks the latest in a series of such deals signed by Nvidia. The valuation of the Silicon Valley-based chip designer, which sits at the heart of a wider AI boom, surged past $4tn earlier this year. In September Nvidia announced plans to invest a record $100bn in OpenAI over time, as part of a joint effort to build the data centres powering AI. It made a $5bn investment in Intel after the US government took a 10 per cent stake in its troubled rival, a move that was widely seen as supporting the Trump administration's efforts to boost domestic chip manufacturing. Nvidia has also made recent investments in its own customers, including £500mn in UK-based Nscale, as well as participating in Crusoe's latest funding round, which valued the AI infrastructure company at over $10bn.

Nvidia takes $1 billion stake in Nokia

Nokia will issue over 166 million new shares. Nokia said that it would use the proceeds to fund its plans for AI and other general corporate purposes. The two companies also struck a strategic partnership to work together to develop next-generation 6G cellular technology. Nokia said that it would adapt its 5G and 6G software to run on Nvidia's chips, and will collaborate on networking technology for AI. Nokia said Nvidia would consider incorporating its technology into its future AI infrastructure plans.

NVIDIA and US Telecom Leaders Unveil the All-American AI-RAN Stack to Accelerate the Path to 6G

GTC Washington, D.C. -- NVIDIA today announced America's first AI-native wireless stack for 6G, including new applications to advance next-generation wireless technology, in collaboration with industry-leading partners Booz Allen, Cisco, MITRE, ODC and T-Mobile. As AI moves beyond smartphones to cameras, augmented-reality glasses, robots, autonomous vehicles and other devices, wireless networks face mounting demand to support billions of connections at unprecedented scale and efficiency. To meet this challenge and support transformative technologies like integrated sensing and communications (ISAC) -- a critical sensing capability for connecting physical and digital environments -- wireless networks must become AI-native across hardware, software and architecture. AI-native networks enable spectrum -- radio frequencies used to transmit wireless signals -- to be used as efficiently as possible. AI-RAN architecture is at the heart of next-generation wireless communications, combining connectivity, computing and sensing via a common platform with software-defined applications. "6G is being built from the ground up with AI at its core -- unlocking extreme spectral efficiency, massive connectivity and breakthrough applications," said Ronnie Vasishta, senior vice president of telecom at NVIDIA. "Working with industry leaders, we've created an AI-native wireless stack with advanced features to ensure that America will play an instrumental role in the journey to 6G." First Made-in-America AI-Native Wireless Stack at NVIDIA Just six months since starting the AI-WIN project, NVIDIA and its partners built a complete AI-native wireless stack, performed the first user-to-user phone call over the network and developed groundbreaking 6G applications at NVIDIA's campus in Santa Clara, California. The system combines the NVIDIA AI Aerial platform with 5G RAN software from ODC, user plane function and 5G core software from Cisco, and specialized 6G applications from MITRE and Booz Allen. Cisco is accelerating secure network connectivity for the AI era through the AI-WIN initiative, helping build the foundation to enable physical AI and integrated sensing with exceptional efficiency and security. "Through this partnership, we are pioneering the future of intelligent, secure connectivity -- where AI is infused into the fabric of mobile networks and services," said Masum Mir, senior vice president and general manager of Cisco Provider Mobility. "Together, we are harnessing AI to enable networks that sense, learn and act in real time, empowering service providers to deliver high-value business and consumer services in the AI era." Cerberus ODC's commercial, fully software-defined 5G RAN, powered by NVIDIA AI Aerial, is setting new benchmarks by enabling simultaneous RAN and AI workloads for mission-critical enterprise applications, while outperforming legacy RAN systems with 7x greater cell capacity and 3.5x higher power efficiency. Breakthrough Applications Drive 6G Standards As part of the collaboration, NVIDIA and Booz Allen developed a first-of-its-kind multimodal ISAC application, fusing camera vision and radio-frequency sensing to enable precise detection and tracking of objects even in low-visibility conditions. Camera vision can be used to spot a moving object but cannot track its path or detect it when there is an obstruction. Radio-frequency sensors, however, can reveal an object's location, velocity and distance, and sense its presence without visible light. Using camera vision and radio-frequency data, the new ISAC application delivers enhanced spatial awareness in real time, enabling powerful use cases in public safety, industrial monitoring and national security, where traditional single-modality sensing may fall short. AI-powered spectrum agility, a new application built by MITRE, manages wireless spectrum allocation within a cell site in real time so users can experience seamless connectivity and operators can benefit from dramatic improvements in spectral efficiency. Unlike traditional approaches that shut down entire network bands when interfering systems are detected, this application uses AI to target and block only the affected frequencies without interrupting consumer services. This delivers an orders-of-magnitude improvement in spectral efficiency and utilization compared with existing methods and addresses persistent challenges with spectrum management and operations. At NVIDIA GTC, Washington D.C., Booz Allen showcased its AI-powered spectrum sensing R.AI.DIO application to detect and classify any type of interference, including malicious signal jammers and unauthorized network users, in real time. This enables operators to immediately respond to threats and automatically mitigate issues to protect network integrity. NVIDIA AI Aerial software libraries make these early 6G applications possible, and new AI- and neural network-based model integrations boost performance and efficiency. In addition, the new NVIDIA Aerial Framework provides modular, programmable pipelines to seamlessly integrate third-party applications into the AI-RAN stack. Application programming interfaces that are part of the framework enable these applications to access real-time physical-layer data -- the base form of data in a radio signal processing pipeline -- enhancing further training and reinforcement learning for AI models on the fly. AI-native wireless networks provide the path to telecom's major paradigm shift from 5G to 6G, enabling extremely efficient edge AI inference and sensing capabilities to serve hundreds of billions of network connections and raise revenue for operators.

Nvidia is investing $1 billion into Nokia as it brings AI power into the push for 6G

RAN and 6G network services among new technologies being worked on Nvidia has revealed a $1 billion investment into Nokia as it looks to take a key role in furthering the development of AI-ready networks. The investment will aim to cover a wide range of projects, including 5G-Advanced and 6G networks built to cope with the massive demands brought by AI workloads. The deal will also see Nvidia adding its AI-RAN products to Nokia's own RAN portfolio, helping speed up the development and deployment of these next-gen networks. In a blog post announcing the news , the two companies said the partnership, "marks the beginning of the AI-native wireless era", and should provide the foundation to support AI-powered consumer experiences and enterprise services at the edge. "Telecommunications is a critical national infrastructure -- the digital nervous system of our economy and security," said Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of Nvidia. "Built on Nvidia CUDA and AI, AI-RAN will revolutionize telecommunications -- a generational platform shift that empowers the United States to regain global leadership in this vital infrastructure technology. Together with Nokia and America's telecom ecosystem, we're igniting this revolution, equipping operators to build intelligent, adaptive networks that will define the next generation of global connectivity." To power this technological step forward, Nvidia revealed Aerial RAN Computer Pro (ARC-Pro) an "accelerated computing platform" for manufacturers and network equipment providers which combines connectivity, computing, and sensing capabilities. This will allow them to build commercial-off-the-shelf-based or proprietary AI-RAN products, speeding up the move from 5G-Advanced to 6G for telco networks. Nokia and Nvidia also plan to work together on AI networking tools such as data center switching, and will also explore the use of Nokia's optical technologies and capabilities to help build future Nvidia AI infrastructure architecture. "The next leap in telecom isn't just from 5G to 6G -- it's a fundamental redesign of the network to deliver AI-powered connectivity, capable of processing intelligence from the data center all the way to the edge. Our partnership with Nvidia, and their investment in Nokia, will accelerate AI-RAN innovation to put an AI data center into everyone's pocket," said Justin Hotard, President and CEO of Nokia.

Nokia base stations to integrate Nvidia GPUs for AI-RAN, 6G development

Future Nokia base stations will adopt Nvidia ARC, integrating Grace CPUs with Blackwell GPUs, as part of a long-term collaboration between the two companies on 5G and 6G base station chips. The AI-RAN platform can leverage idle RAN assets to support edge AI services, allowing base stations to perform AI inference computations while providing communication services. In an August 2025 interview, Chairman and General Manager of Nokia Communications Taiwan Jason Liu stated that the concept of AI-RAN has become a key focus in the industry since the 2024 Barcelona MWC conference. The industry wants AI integrated into RAN for network optimization and to provide better applications. According to Liu, future base stations may even provide GPU computing power, creating additional revenue models. The AI-RAN platform enables large-scale deployment of distributed edge AI, realizing the additional revenue models described by Nokia executives. Press releases from both companies have confirmed that Nokia base stations will adopt Nvidia's AI chips and software to advance next-generation communications technologies such as AI Radio Access Network (AI-RAN). The collaboration also strengthens Nokia's 6G roadmap. Nigel Chen, Technical Director of Nokia's Mobile Networks division, emphasized that 6G is an AI-native technology. In 6G networks, every network element will have AI integration capabilities, making AI a central focus for future 6G technology research. Harri Holma, a Nokia Bell Labs Fellow, added that Bell Labs is already testing a proof-of-concept (PoC) system aimed at completely replacing traditional radio connections with AI, not merely optimizing individual modules with AI. Nokia has long been actively deploying AI at the algorithm and architecture levels, and Nvidia's involvement completes the most critical piece of this grand vision: the hardware GPU computing power. Nvidia announced the US$1 billion investment in Nokia at GTC DC, formalizing the collaboration. Article edited by Jerry Chen

Quartz

Snake isn't back, but Nokia is still having a moment. That's because Nvidia, the backbone of the AI boom, is pouring $1 billion into what's left of the former telecom giant. Nokia is perhaps still best known for its old-school handhelds, classic ringtones, and preloaded games. However, the rise of smartphones and some M&A have altogether transformed Nokia into what it is today: a supplier of 5G tech for telecoms. Along with the $1 billion stake, Nvidia says it'll work with Nokia on next-generation networking technology -- 6G. News of the deal amid Nvidia's big tech show in Washington sent Nokia stock soaring more than 23%. In a press release, Nvidia said, "The partnership marks the beginning of the AI-native wireless era, providing the foundation to support AI-powered consumer experiences and enterprise services at the edge." 5G never quite lived up to the hype, and it's possible 6G won't, either. But the latter networking-tech standard has the AI boom on its side, and an imperative to support the data- and energy-intensive AI tools invading offices, homes, schools, and just about every other corner of the digitized Earth. Wherever 6G lands over the next decade, Nvdia's splashy push into the space will certainly help shore up more investment dollars and deals.

NVIDIA and Nokia to Pioneer the AI Platform for 6G -- Powering America's Return to Telecommunications Leadership

GTC Washington, D.C. -- NVIDIA and Nokia today announced a strategic partnership to add NVIDIA-powered, commercial-grade AI-RAN products to Nokia's industry-leading RAN portfolio, enabling communication service providers to launch AI-native 5G-Advanced and 6G networks on NVIDIA platforms. NVIDIA will also invest $1 billion in Nokia at a subscription price of $6.01 per share. The investment is subject to customary closing conditions. The partnership marks the beginning of the AI-native wireless era, providing the foundation to support AI-powered consumer experiences and enterprise services at the edge. In addition, the partnership addresses the fast-growing AI-RAN market, representing a significant opportunity within the RAN market that is expected to exceed a cumulative $200 billion by 2030, according to analyst firm Omdia. Together, NVIDIA and Nokia are also laying the strategic infrastructure and opening up a new high-growth frontier for telecom providers by delivering distributed edge AI inferencing at scale. T-Mobile U.S. will collaborate with Nokia and NVIDIA to drive and test AI-RAN technologies as a part of the 6G innovation and development process, reinforcing its global leadership in driving wireless innovation. Trials are expected to begin in 2026, focused on field validation of performance and efficiency gains for customers. The move will enable massive improvements in performance and efficiency, helping ensure that consumers using generative, agentic and physical AI applications on their devices will have seamless network experiences. It will also support future AI-native devices, such as drones or augmented- and virtual-reality glasses, while being ready for 6G applications such as integrated sensing and communications. "Telecommunications is a critical national infrastructure -- the digital nervous system of our economy and security," said Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of NVIDIA. "Built on NVIDIA CUDA and AI, AI-RAN will revolutionize telecommunications -- a generational platform shift that empowers the United States to regain global leadership in this vital infrastructure technology. Together with Nokia and America's telecom ecosystem, we're igniting this revolution, equipping operators to build intelligent, adaptive networks that will define the next generation of global connectivity." "The next leap in telecom isn't just from 5G to 6G -- it's a fundamental redesign of the network to deliver AI-powered connectivity, capable of processing intelligence from the data center all the way to the edge. Our partnership with NVIDIA, and their investment in Nokia, will accelerate AI-RAN innovation to put an AI data center into everyone's pocket," said Justin Hotard, President and CEO of Nokia. "We're proud to drive this industry transformation with NVIDIA, Dell Technologies, and T-Mobile U.S., our first AI-RAN deployments in T-Mobile's network will ensure America leads in the advanced connectivity that AI needs." Supporting Exponential Growth in AI traffic Growth in AI traffic is exploding. For example, almost 50% of ChatGPT's 800 million weekly active users access the site via mobile devices, and its monthly mobile app downloads exceed 40 million. With Nokia and NVIDIA-powered AI-RAN systems, mobile operators can improve performance and efficiency as well as enhance network experiences for future generative and agentic AI applications and experiences. They will be able to introduce new AI services for 6G with the same infrastructure, powering billions of new connections for drones, cars, robots and augmented- and virtual-reality glasses that demand connectivity, computing and sensing at the edge. Seamless Transition to AI-Native Networks NVIDIA is introducing Aerial RAN Computer Pro (ARC-Pro), a 6G-ready accelerated computing platform that combines connectivity, computing and sensing capabilities, enabling telcos to move from 5G-Advanced to 6G through software upgrades. The NVIDIA ARC-Pro reference design is available for manufacturers and network equipment providers to build commercial-off-the-shelf-based or proprietary AI-RAN products, supporting both new buildouts and expansions to existing base stations. Nokia will accelerate the availability of its 5G and 6G RAN software on the NVIDIA CUDA platform and expand its RAN portfolio by embedding NVIDIA ARC-Pro at the heart of the new AI-RAN solution. This partnership will enable Nokia's mobile network customers to transition seamlessly from today's RAN networks to future AI-RAN networks. Nokia's unique anyRAN approach simplifies the introduction of the ARC-Pro platform by establishing software-defined RAN evolution for both Cloud RAN and purpose-built RAN. AirScale baseband is a modular architecture in which new cards can coexist with previously deployed cards. Nokia aims to expand and evolve its AirScale baseband into the 5G-Advanced and 6G era with new AI-RAN capabilities. Dell Technologies is driving innovation in Nokia's AI-RAN solution with its state-of-the-art Dell PowerEdge servers. Engineered for seamless scalability, these servers enable no-touch software upgrades and low-touch silicon upgrades, ensuring a smooth evolution from 5G to 5G-Advanced and 6G. With their robust, high-performance infrastructure, Dell PowerEdge servers are the ultimate compute platform for operators deploying AI-RAN solutions. Future-Proofed for 6G Nokia and NVIDIA's AI-RAN platform unifies AI and radio access workloads on a software-defined, accelerated infrastructure, boosting performance, efficiency and monetization while enabling a smooth, cost-effective path to 6G. New capabilities are added through software updates, future-proofing investments for 6G and beyond, while enabling rapid innovation cycles at the pace of AI. It serves growing generative AI and agentic AI traffic on the same sites as RAN functions, applying AI algorithms to improve spectral and energy efficiency, as well as overall network performance, and by tapping into underutilized RAN assets to host edge AI services and maximize return on investment. "With America's best network, T-Mobile remains committed to advancing next-generation technologies that redefine the customer experience," said John Saw, president of technology and chief technology officer at T-Mobile. "Our collaboration with industry leaders Nokia and NVIDIA marks an important step toward shaping the future of connectivity as we develop the innovations that will power the 6G era. Building on the foundation established by the AI-RAN Innovation Center in 2024, this strategic initiative reinforces T-Mobile's leadership in driving the U.S. wireless industry forward. Beginning in 2026, T-Mobile will conduct field evaluations and testing of advanced AI-RAN technologies to ensure they meet the evolving needs of our customers as we move toward 6G." "The telecommunications industry owns the most valuable real estate for AI -- the edge, where data is created," said Michael Dell, chairman and chief executive officer of Dell Technologies. "This AI-RAN collaboration with Nokia and NVIDIA makes that potential real. We've built some of the world's largest AI clusters with 100,000+ GPUs. Now we're applying that expertise to distribute intelligence across millions of edge nodes. The operators who modernize their infrastructure today won't just carry AI traffic -- they'll be the distributed AI grid factories that process it at the source, where latency matters and data sovereignty is critical." Additional AI Networking Solutions Cooperation Nokia and NVIDIA will also collaborate on AI networking solutions, including data center switching with Nokia's SR Linux software for the NVIDIA Spectrum-X™ Ethernet networking platform and the application of Nokia's telemetry and fabric management platform on NVIDIA AI infrastructure. The companies will also explore the use of Nokia's optical technologies and capabilities as part of future NVIDIA AI infrastructure architecture.

NVIDIA to Invest $1 Bn in Nokia, Form AI and Data Centre Partnership | AIM

As part of the partnership, Nokia plans to optimise its 5G and 6G RAN software to run on NVIDIA's architecture and increase its presence in the AI and cloud markets. Nokia announced on Tuesday that NVIDIA will make a USD 1 billion equity investment in the company as part of a new strategic partnership aimed at developing AI-powered radio access networks (AI-RAN) and data centre networking solutions. The Board of Directors of Nokia has approved the issuance of 166.4 million new shares to NVIDIA at a price of USD 6.01 (EUR 5.16) per share. Following the transaction, NVIDIA will hold approximately 2.9% of Nokia's total shares, subject to customary closing conditions. "The strategic partnership and investment are expected to create value for both companies," Nokia said in its statement. "Nokia will use the proceeds to accelerate its strategic plans to advance trusted connectivity for the AI supercycle and other general corporate purposes." As part of the partnership, Nokia plans to optimise its 5G and 6G RAN software to run on NVIDIA's architecture and increase its presence in the AI and cloud markets through data centre-aligned networking solutions within its Network Infrastructure business. The two companies will also collaborate on AI networking solutions and explore integrating Nokia's data centre switching and optical technologies into NVIDIA's future AI infrastructure. Nokia stated that the subscription price was negotiated between the companies after taking independent legal and financial advice to evaluate the fairness of the terms. "In the assessment of Nokia, the strategic partnership, including the share issuance, benefits Nokia and its shareholders," the company said. The newly issued shares will be delivered to NVIDIA as American Depositary Shares (ADS) and are expected to be registered with the Finnish Trade Register in November. They will be listed on Nasdaq Helsinki, Euronext Paris, and the New York Stock Exchange, along with existing Nokia shares. Following registration, Nokia's total number of shares will increase to 5.74 billion, with the new shares representing approximately 2.9% of the total.

Nvidia invests $1B in Nokia as part of new wireless networking partnership - SiliconANGLE

Nvidia invests $1B in Nokia as part of new wireless networking partnership Shares of Nokia Corp. closed 20.8% higher today after Nvidia Corp. announced plans to take a $1 billion stake in the telecommunications equipment maker. The investment is part of a partnership that will see the companies collaborate on new radio access network, or RAN, products. RAN is a telecommunications industry term that covers 5G base stations and certain related hardware. Finland-based Nokia is among the world's largest makers of 5G base stations. It also sells software that carriers use to find ways of optimizing their network infrastructure, manage subscriber data and perform related tasks. Nokia generated €4.82 billion in revenue across those product lines in its most recent fiscal quarter. The company's new partnership with Nvidia focuses on an offering called the Arc Aerial RAN Computer Pro, or ARC-Pro, that the chipmaker debuted today. It's a reference design that server manufacturers can use to make computing appliances for internet providers. The appliances will have a ruggedized form factor capable of operating in sub-freezing temperatures. According to Nvidia, each ARC-Pro system includes a workstation-grade Blackwell RTX PRO graphics processing unit. The chip is based on the same architecture as the company's flagship data center GPUs. There's also a 72-core Grace central processing unit, as well as network interface cards that link the system to other components of a carrier's infrastructure. Internet providers can install ARC-Pro systems next to their cell towers and use them to run artificial intelligence software. A carrier could, for example, deploy a neural network that automatically optimizes 5G base stations' power usage. Nvidia says that ARC-Pro can also help carriers prepare their networks for the future switch to 6G, the planned successor to 5G. The system is designed to ease the implementation of 6G features such as ultra MIMO. The feature, which is still under development, will increase the amount of data traffic that base stations can process by equipping them with more antennas. Nokia plans to integrate the ARC-Pro into its network equipment portfolio. Additionally, the company will make it easier to use its 5G and 6G applications with Nvidia's CUDA toolkit. Developers use the latter software to run AI models on the chipmaker's GPUs. "The next leap in telecom isn't just from 5G to 6G -- it's a fundamental redesign of the network to deliver AI-powered connectivity, capable of processing intelligence from the data center all the way to the edge," said Nokia Chief Executive Officer Justin Hotard. "Our partnership with NVIDIA, and their investment in Nokia, will accelerate AI-RAN."

Nvidia bets on AI-native 5G, 6G with $1bn stake in Nokia

The partnership 'marks the beginning of the AI-native wireless era', the companies said. Nvidia is investing $1bn into Nokia to advance AI in telecommunications technology, the companies announced yesterday (28 October). Nokia shares jumped more than 21pc since the announcement. Alongside the equity investment, the two have struck a strategic partnership to power 5G and 6G networks with AI by adding Nvidia's AI-RAN (Radio Access Network) products to Nokia's RAN portfolio. RAN is a major component of wireless telecommunications tech which connects devices to a network through radio links. The partnership "marks the beginning of the AI-native wireless era", the announcement read. T-Mobile US is set to collaborate with the two companies to drive and test the AI-RAN tech. Trials are expected to begin next year. "The next leap in telecom isn't just from 5G to 6G - it's a fundamental redesign of the network to deliver AI-powered connectivity, capable of processing intelligence from the data centre all the way to the edge," said Justin Hotard, the president and CEO of Nokia. "Our partnership with Nvidia, and their investment in Nokia, will accelerate AI-RAN innovation to put an AI data centre into everyone's pocket." The motivation behind the partnership seems to be a significant growth in mobile-based AI traffic. According to data provided by the companies, 50pc of ChatGPT's 800m weekly active users access the site through their phones. AI-powered mobile networks would mean improved performance, efficiency, and enhanced network experiences for future generative AI and agentic AI applications, the companies said. "Telecommunications is a critical national infrastructure - the digital nervous system of our economy and security," said Jensen Huang, Nvidia's CEO. AI-RAN would "revolutionise telecommunications" and allow the US to "regain global leadership" in the infrastructure, he added. This is the latest multibillion-dollar investment for the AI chip leader, which has, in recent months, poured $5bn into rival chipmaker Intel, promised $100bn to OpenAI and pledged to invest £2bn to develop the UK's AI infrastructure. The company also announced a number of partnerships including with tech giants such as Uber, Palantir, Amazon and Microsoft. Don't miss out on the knowledge you need to succeed. Sign up for the Daily Brief, Silicon Republic's digest of need-to-know sci-tech news. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang (P20250723JB-0398). Image: © Joyce N. Boghosian/ The White House, United States Government Work via Flickr.

Nvidia invests $1 billion in Nokia to develop AI-powered 6G networks

Nvidia is taking a step into telecom by putting $1 billion into Nokia, giving it just under a three-percent share in the Finnish networking giant. The two companies are teaming up to bring artificial intelligence into future 6G networks -- a technology that's still years away but already drawing major research funding. Their main focus will be using AI to make mobile networks faster and more efficient. In theory, 6G could let carriers squeeze more performance out of the same amount of spectrum, lowering energy use and improving coverage. Nokia brings decades of experience in radio gear and network systems, while Nvidia adds its AI hardware and software expertise, creating a natural fit for experimenting with smarter network automation. One of Nvidia's upcoming products in this area is the Aerial RAN Computer Pro, or ARC-Pro. It's described as a system built for telecom providers that want to move smoothly from 5G to 6G when the time comes. Nvidia hasn't shared much about its exact capabilities yet, but the hardware is expected to include built-in AI acceleration and networking interfaces ready for future upgrades. U.S. carrier T-Mobile is reportedly one of the first interested in testing it once development progresses. The partnership could also spill over into data centers. Nvidia said it wants to see if Nokia's network technologies can play a role in its server platforms, especially as demand grows for AI-driven edge computing and cloud networking. Combining both companies' technologies could lead to more efficient ways to handle massive data traffic between devices, towers, and data centers. 6G isn't here yet -- experts expect the first commercial rollouts around 2030 -- but research and standards development are already moving fast. Nvidia's investment gives Nokia extra funding to strengthen its position against rivals like Ericsson and Huawei, while Nvidia gains a foothold in an industry that's becoming increasingly tied to AI. Source: NVIDIA

NVIDIA announces partnership with Nokia for next-gen 6G connectivity powered by AI

TL;DR: NVIDIA and Nokia have partnered to develop AI-native 6G networks using NVIDIA's Grace CPUs and Blackwell GPUs in the ARC Aerial RAN Computer platform. This collaboration enables scalable AI-powered edge computing, transforming telecom infrastructure and accelerating next-generation mobile connectivity with support from T-Mobile and Dell Technologies. NVIDIA has just announced a large partnership with Nokia on next-gen 6G connectivity, where the power of AI will be used through NVIDIA Grace CPUs and Blackwell GPUs. The new partnership kicks off the AI-native wireless era, providing the foundation to support AI-powered customer experiences and enterprises at the edge. NVIDIA and Nokia are also laying the strategic infrastructure and opening a new high-growth frontier for telecom providers by delivering distributed edge AI inference at scale. NVIDIA's new family of products for this new venture are called ARC (Aerial RAN Computer), which is reportedly platform ready for 6G computing by embedding RAN software into the CUDA stack, boosting performance. NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang revealed that ARC will feature Grace CPUs and Blackwell GPUs, making it the first time where telecom infrastructure will have huge performance capabilities ready to go. The ARC ecosystem will be integrated into Nokia's existing RAN buildout, enabling customers to make the easy switch to 6G. * NVIDIA and Nokia to establish a strategic partnership to enable accelerated development and deployment of next generation AI native mobile networks and AI networking infrastructure. * NVIDIA introduces NVIDIA Arc Aerial RAN Computer, a 6G-ready telecommunications computing platform. * Nokia to expand its global access portfolio with new AI-RAN product based on NVIDIA platform. * T-Mobile U.S. is working with Nokia and NVIDIA to integrate AI-RAN technologies into its 6G development process. * Collaboration enables new AI services and improved consumer experiences to support explosive growth in mobile AI traffic. * Dell Technologies provides PowerEdge servers to power new AI-RAN solution. * Partnership marks turning point for the industry, paving the way to AI-native 6G by taking AI-RAN to innovation and commercialization at a global scale. Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of NVIDIA, said: "Telecommunications is a critical national infrastructure - the digital nervous system of our economy and security. Built on NVIDIA CUDA and AI, AI-RAN will revolutionize telecommunications - a generational platform shift that empowers the United States to regain global leadership in this vital infrastructure technology. Together with Nokia and America's telecom ecosystem, we're igniting this revolution, equipping operators to build intelligent, adaptive networks that will define the next generation of global connectivity".

Nvidia to invest $1 billion in Finland's Nokia in AI drive - The Economic Times

Nokia announced that Nvidia will invest $1 billion to acquire a 2.9% stake in the Finnish telecom giant. The partnership aims to strengthen Nokia's position in 5G and AI-driven network technologies, while allowing Nvidia to expand its influence in telecommunications infrastructure and next-generation connectivity solutions globally.Finland's Nokia said on Tuesday that Nvidia would make a $1 billion equity investment in the Finnish telecom equipment maker. Nokia and Nvidia will collaborate on AI networking solutions and explore opportunities to incorporate Nokia's data-center switching and optical technologies in Nvidia's future AI infrastructure architecture, the Finnish company said in a statement. Shares in Nokia were up 14% at 1539 GMT.

NVIDIA Unveils a Massive Partnership With Nokia, Bringing Next-Gen 6G Connectivity By Leveraging the Power of AI

NVIDIA has announced a surprise partnership with Nokia to bring 6G connectivity by utilizing the firm's new AI-RAN products, involving Grace CPUs and Blackwell GPUs. Team Green has managed to integrate AI into everything mainstream, and it seems that the telecommunications industry is now expected to benefit from the next wave of AI's computing capabilities. At the GTC 2025 keynote, NVIDIA's CEO announced a pivotal partnership with Nokia, formally entering the race for achieving 6G connectivity through a new suite of AI-RAN products combined with Nokia's leading telecom infrastructure. To consolidate the collaboration, NVIDIA is investing $1 billion into Nokia, at a price of $6.01 per share. The partnership marks the beginning of the AI-native wireless era, providing the foundation to support AI-powered consumer experiences and enterprise services at the edge. Together, NVIDIA and Nokia are also laying the strategic infrastructure and opening up a new high-growth frontier for telecom providers by delivering distributed edge AI inferencing at scale. NVIDIA's new lineup of products for this venture is called ARC (Aerial RAN Computer), which is claimed to be a platform ready for 6G computing by embedding RAN software into the CUDA tech stack, to achieve accelerated performance. Jensen revealed that ARC will feature Grace CPUs and Blackwell GPUs onboard, marking the first occasion where the telecom infrastructure will have massive performance capabilities at its disposal. The ARC ecosystem will be integrated into Nokia's existing RAN buildout, enabling customers to make a seamless transition to 6G. Nokia will accelerate the availability of its 5G and 6G RAN software on the NVIDIA CUDA platform and expand its RAN portfolio by embedding NVIDIA ARC-Pro at the heart of the new AI-RAN solution. This partnership will enable Nokia's mobile network customers to transition seamlessly from today's RAN networks to future AI-RAN networks. As for when we can expect to see the technology become mainstream, NVIDIA has revealed that network carrier T-Mobile will begin "field tests" of the AI-RAN technologies in 2026, paving the way for 6G innovations to begin in the US.

Nvidia To Invest $1B In Nokia In Major AI Telecom Platform Push

The AI infrastructure giant pitched the telecom initiative as a way to help mobile operators 'improve performance and efficiency as well as enhance network experiences' for AI applications that now drive massive amounts of web traffic. Nvidia announced Tuesday that it plans to invest $1 billion into Nokia as part of a major push by the company to expand in the telecom industry with a new AI platform. Disclosed during Nvidia's GTC DC event, the AI infrastructure giant said the investment is part of a new strategic partnership that will see Nokia adopt its newly announced Aerial RAN Computer to aid with the telecom industry's transition to 6G cellular networks. [Related: Nvidia Reveals BlueField-4 DPU, Packed With 64-Core Grace CPU For AI Data Centers] The planned investment will involve Nvidia paying $1 billion at a subscription price of $6.01 per share, with the company noting that the transaction is subject to closing conditions. Nokia's stock price closed on Tuesday at $7.77, up 22.8 percent from the previous day. The Santa Clara, Calif.-based company pitched the telecom initiative as a way to help mobile operators "improve performance and efficiency as well as enhance network experiences" for AI applications that now drive massive amounts of web traffic. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said during his GTC DC keynote in Washington, D.C., that the move with Nokia, a Finland-based company that provides telecom infrastructure, will put the United States "at the center of the next revolution in 6G." "Thank you for helping [the] United States bring telecommunication technology back to America. This is really a fantastic, fantastic partnership," Huang told Nokia CEO Justin Hotard, previously the leader of Intel's data center business, at the event. The first carrier in support of the partnership is T-Mobile U.S., which will work with Nvidia and Nokia to "drive and test" AI-powered radio access network (RAN) technologies "as part of the 6G innovation and development process." Trials are slated to begin next year. "With America's best network, T-Mobile remains committed to advancing next-generation technologies that redefine the customer experience," said John Saw, president of technology and chief technology officer at T-Mobile, in a statement At the foundation of Nokia's so-called AI-RAN solution will be Nvidia's Aerial RAN Computer Pro -- shortened as ARC-Pro -- which the AI infrastructure giant is billing as a reference design for accelerated computing systems that can aid with the telecom industry's move from "5G-Advanced to 6G through software upgrades." Nvidia said the ARC-Pro reference design will enable manufacturers and network equipment providers to use commercial off-the-shelf or proprietary products to build AI-RAN products in support of "new buildouts and expansions to existing base stations." The first OEM promoted for this AI-RAN push is Dell Technologies, whose PowerEdge servers will be used to drive innovation in Nokia's solution, according to Nvidia. "The telecommunications industry owns the most valuable real estate for AI -- the edge, where data is created," said Michael Dell, chairman and CEO of Dell, in a statement. "This AI-RAN collaboration with Nokia and NVIDIA makes that potential real. We've built some of the world's largest AI clusters with 100,000+ GPUs. Now we're applying that expertise to distribute intelligence across millions of edge nodes." As part of its AI-RAN development, Nokia is working to "accelerate the availability of its 5G and 6G RAN software" on Nvidia's CUDA programming platform," Nvidia said. "So what that means is we're going to take this new technology and we'll be able to upgrade millions of base stations around the world with 6G and AI," Huang said.

Nvidia and Nokia Form $1 Billion Communications Pact | PYMNTS.com

This will allow communication service providers to launch AI-native 5G-Advanced and 6G networks on Nvidia platforms, the world's most valuable company said in a news release, calling the collaboration "the beginning of the AI-native wireless era." The partnership also addresses the fast-growing AI-RAN market, with the larger RAN market expected to exceed $200 billion by 2030, Nvidia said, citing data from analyst firm Omdia. Together, Nvidia and Nokia are also laying the infrastructure for telecom providers by delivering distributed edge AI inferencing at scale. "Telecommunications is a critical national infrastructure -- the digital nervous system of our economy and security," said Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of Nvidia. "Built on Nvidia CUDA and AI, AI-RAN will revolutionize telecommunications -- a generational platform shift that empowers the United States to regain global leadership in this vital infrastructure technology. Together with Nokia and America's telecom ecosystem, we're igniting this revolution, equipping operators to build intelligent, adaptive networks that will define the next generation of global connectivity." The two companies plan to work with T-Mobile U.S. to test AI-RAN technologies as a part of the 6G innovation and development process beginning next year. Nvidia last year introduced its AI Aerial platform, which combines software and hardware to infuse AI into RAN technology. As PYMNTS wrote, this move suggests a shift in how wireless networks operate, with wide-ranging implications for retail and logistics industries. "More advanced AI systems will be developed which will feature recommendation engines and dynamic pricing models; there will be faster and more efficient communication between networks and users due to high data throughput," Chris Dukich, founder of digital signage software company Display Now, told PYMNTS. In other Nvidia news, PYMNTS wrote earlier this month about the company's warning that the same autonomy that makes AI agents powerful may also make them vulnerable.

NVIDIA to invest $1 billion in Nokia to accelerate AI-RAN and 6G innovation

NVIDIA and Nokia on Tuesday announced a strategic partnership to accelerate the development of AI-powered Radio Access Networks (AI-RAN) and advance 6G evolution. As part of the agreement, NVIDIA will invest $1 billion in Nokia at a subscription price of $6.01 per share, subject to customary closing conditions. The collaboration integrates NVIDIA's advanced GPU and AI computing platforms with Nokia's anyRAN and AirScale radio technologies to deliver scalable, energy-efficient, and software-upgradable network solutions. The AI-RAN initiative aims to embed artificial intelligence directly within the RAN, improving network performance and resource allocation. By integrating NVIDIA's Grace Hopper Superchip and Aerial SDK with Nokia's AirScale systems, operators can dynamically optimize traffic management, power efficiency, and user experience. This approach supports both traditional baseband and AI-driven workloads, allowing networks to adapt intelligently to changing conditions and user demands. The partnership builds on Nokia's anyRAN framework, which promotes flexible deployment of virtualized and cloud RAN solutions across diverse infrastructure environments. NVIDIA's Aerial platform will enhance this framework with high-performance parallel processing, enabling advanced AI algorithms to analyze real-time network data at the edge. This integration is designed to support future RAN architectures that rely on machine learning to automate spectrum management, interference control, and network slicing. Nokia and NVIDIA are working with industry partners including T-Mobile and Dell Technologies to test and deploy AI-RAN solutions in live network environments. As part of this effort, Nokia has introduced ARC-Pro, a network intelligence layer that leverages AI for predictive and real-time network management. ARC-Pro is designed to identify traffic trends, automate operational tasks, and enhance network reliability. Together with NVIDIA's processing platforms, ARC-Pro enables continuous learning models that refine network efficiency and accelerate performance across distributed systems. The Nokia-NVIDIA alliance is also focused on building an open, AI-native foundation for 6G networks. The partners aim to deliver architectures capable of autonomous operation, data-driven optimization, and sustainable power use across massive-scale networks. Industry collaborators, including T-Mobile and Dell Technologies, have emphasized that AI-RAN development is a critical step toward realizing the 6G era. Nokia and NVIDIA plan to expand joint research on AI-driven RAN applications, exploring how neural network-based control systems can enhance spectrum utilization and latency reduction. Both companies will contribute expertise in cloud infrastructure, chip design, and software-defined networking to ensure multi-vendor compatibility and long-term scalability. The partnership positions Nokia and NVIDIA at the center of the telecom industry's transition toward AI-native and cloud-integrated RAN systems. By aligning software intelligence with high-performance computing, the collaboration lays the groundwork for next-generation 6G networks designed to be adaptive, autonomous, and energy-efficient. Commenting on the collaboration, Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of NVIDIA, said: Telecommunications form a critical national infrastructure -- the digital nervous system of our economy and security. Powered by NVIDIA CUDA and AI, AI-RAN will transform telecommunications, marking a generational platform shift that enables the United States to reclaim global leadership in this essential technology. Together with Nokia and the broader telecom ecosystem, we're driving this transformation, empowering operators to build intelligent, adaptive networks that will shape the next generation of global connectivity. Speaking on the collaboration, Justin Hotard, President and CEO of Nokia, said:

$1 Billion Bet: NVIDIA Partners with Nokia to Shape the Future of 6G Networks

NVIDIA has announced a $1 billion investment in Nokia to jointly develop an AI-driven 6G platform, marking a pivotal moment for the future of global telecom networks. The NVIDIA-Nokia partnership marks the beginning of an artificial intelligence-based wireless era, laying the foundation for enhanced consumer experiences and enterprise services. Under this strategic partnership, will provide commercial-grade AI-RAN products to Nokia's industry-leading portfolio. This will help enable communication service providers to launch AI-native 5G-Advanced and 6G networks on NVIDIA platforms. NVIDIA will also invest $1 billion in Nokia at a subscription price of $6.01 per share. This funding is subject to customary closing conditions. "The next leap in telecom isn't just from 5G to 6G, it's a fundamental redesign of the network to deliver AI-powered connectivity, capable of processing intelligence from the data center all the way to the edge. Our partnership with NVIDIA, and their investment in Nokia, will accelerate AI-RAN innovation to put an AI data center into everyone's pocket," said Justin Hotard, President and CEO of Nokia.

Nvidia, Nokia Partner on New AI Telecom Networks

Nvidia and Nokia are partnering to integrate artificial intelligence into telecom networks, a move aimed at boosting performance and efficiency amid surging workloads. The news comes after the two companies earlier Tuesday said Nvidia will invest $1 billion in Nokia, taking a 2.9% stake in the Finnish telecom equipment maker through the acquisition of newly-issued shares. The companies said they would combine Nvidia's AI-RAN technology with Nokia's traditional telecom networks. Alongside performance and efficiency improvements, they said these new networks would allow communication service providers to launch new products and support next-generation 6G upgrades. As part of the collaboration, T-Mobile U.S. will work with Nokia and Nvidia to test AI network technologies. Trials are expected to begin next year and will focus on confirming performance and efficiency gains, the companies said. "AI-RAN will revolutionize telecommunications--a generational platform shift that empowers the United States to regain global leadership in this vital infrastructure technology," Nvidia Chief Executive Jensen Huang said. Dell Technologies will also supply servers to power the new networks, they added. "The next leap in telecom isn't just from 5G to 6G--it's a fundamental redesign of the network to deliver AI-powered connectivity," Nokia Chief Executive Justin Hotard said. The move comes amid a global rise in demand for connectivity and computing power, which is putting increasing strain on telecom networks. Almost 50% of ChatGPT customers access the site via mobile devices, the companies noted. Financial details weren't disclosed. Write to Dominic Chopping at [email protected]

Nvidia to invest $1bn in Nokia, stock jumps 17%

Nokia's stock soared nearly 17% after Nvidia's investment in the group's capital. Nokia's board of directors has decided to issue 166,389,351 new shares as part of a share issue enabling Nvidia to invest $1bn in Nokia. Nvidia will subscribe to the shares at a subscription price of $6.01 per share. This transaction will enable Nvidia to become a 2.90% shareholder in Nokia. Nokia plans to accelerate the development of its 5G and 6G RAN software to run on Nvidia's architecture and will make investments to increase its presence in the AI and cloud markets. Nokia and Nvidia have agreed to collaborate on AI networking solutions and explore opportunities to integrate Nokia's data center switching and optical technologies into Nvidia's future AI infrastructure architecture.

NVIDIA's investment in Nokia: How it will impact future of 6G telecom networks

OpenRAN momentum grows as general-purpose silicon becomes telecom's future standard After making an unlikely and unprecedented investment in Intel in September 2025, NVIDIA has followed it up with an equally surprising $1 billion deal with Nokia - yes, that same legendary mobile handsets brand of the early 2000s we all loved. The investment gives NVIDIA a roughly 3% stake in Nokia. What for? The stated aim is that together NVIDIA and Nokia will co-develop and deploy AI-powered telecom networking technologies of the future, especially one that will help global telco networks transition from 5G to 6G smoothly. NVIDIA's advanced chips, which have become the heartbeat of AI's all-conquering march on all things digital, will form the bedrock of Nokia's RAN (radio access network) products and infrastructure. In case you didn't know, Nokia is the third largest RAN provider in the world (behind Huawei and Ericsson) - and excluding China, Nokia directly competes with Ericsson for the top spot in telco RAN deployments across most of the Western world. As much as we all depend on mobile networks for 4G / 5G internet access, not many think about the hardware that's deployed to keep those networks always-on. Traditionally, most telecom network hardware has been proprietary and highly customised for only radio communications. Unlike standard CPU, GPU, RAM, etc, that go into your desktop PC, laptop or even smartphones - which have over time become modular in design, with standard sockets, ports and interface interconnects - our telecom networks still need specialized hardware (like custom ASICs or FPGAs) to work. Where network functions are rigidly built into the hardware itself, not so much on the software layer that goes on top of it. Also read: Nvidia invests $1 billion in Nokia to fuel 6G and AI infrastructure collaboration Making any changes (software or hardware) or upgrades to these RANs operated by telecom providers around the world is a painstakingly lengthy and costly affair. Needless to say, this status quo feels outdated, especially in the age of AI. This is where the NVIDIA and Nokia partnership attempts to mark a fundamental shift. By running on NVIDIA chips integrated into standardised commercial hardware, telecom operators around the world will have the ability to instantly make their network infrastructure programmable - both with easy software and hardware upgrades. This also makes RANs more scalable as compute resources, where the network's footprint can be more dynamically adjusted - by adding or removing CPUs, GPUs, etc or with a few lines of code - depending on demand at any given time, location or region. As Nokia's aim is to build, trial and ultimately deploy software that will power 6G networks of the near future, the NVIDIA partnership will boost its ability to make highly scalable, programmable and reliable 6G networks for telecom operators around the world - including here in India. The NVIDIA hardware + Nokia software package aims to make 6G networks more plug n play and less convoluted. As Nokia's CEO Pekka Lundmark put it in the official announcement, "Our partnership with NVIDIA, and their investment in Nokia, will accelerate AI-RAN innovation." This reminds me of what Sachin Katti, Intel's Chief Technology and AI Officer, told me recently in an interview earlier this month. Katti's been a vocal advocate for OpenRAN and software-defined networks for some time now, and during our chat he summed up the direction of the entire telecom industry which reads like a prophetic footnote to NVIDIA's recent moves. Also read: NVIDIA's Kari Briski believes open models will define the next era of AI "At this point, OpenRAN is more of an inevitable conclusion to me... it's a question of when it flips completely rather than an if, and I think it's just the economics of silicon, right?" Katti said, when I spoke with him earlier in October 2025, just a few weeks before the NVIDIA-Nokia partnership announcement. "The industry is just not big enough to keep doing custom silicon. You have to leverage the economies of scale of a general-purpose platform," Katti summed up. While pitched from Intel's vantage point, Katti's statement aligns perfectly with what NVIDIA and Nokia are building towards - which is to bring modular, GPU-powered computing muscle to the telecom world. And replace the old guard of black-box, custom-built network equipment with brand new scalable, programmable alternatives that are of a heterogenous nature. Intel, it should be noted, is betting on its own CPU and accelerator platforms to power cloud-native 5G networks. NVIDIA, on the other hand, is pushing its GPU stack into telecom - the same stack it's optimized for AI and large-scale computing. Two different routes aiming for the same destination, and the conversation lately among chipmakers isn't about competition but forging partnerships. For decades, mobile networks were locked down by design. Now, they're about to be opened up - not just by software, but by silicon as well. And this NVIDIA-Nokia partnership marks an important step in that direction.

Nvidia invests $1 billion in Nokia to fuel 6G and AI infrastructure collaboration

Nokia's shares surged over 20% following the announcement, signaling investor confidence in its AI transformation strategy. US based chipmaker Nvidia has announced a $1 billion investment in Finnish telecom giant Nokia, acquiring a 2.9 per cent ownership stake as part of a sweeping partnership to advance next-generation wireless networks, including 6G, and improved AI driven infrastructure. With this, the company aims to expand its business beyond semiconductors and deeper into the global connectivity and cloud ecosystem. Under the new agreement, Nokia will issue approximately 166 million new shares to Nvidia in the form of American Depositary Shares. It's expected to be officially registered in November. With this funding, Nokia hopes to accelerate its transformation strategy by strengthening its position in cloud networking, AI infrastructure, and connectivity solutions designed for the emerging AI supercycle. A significant portion of the funds will be directed to Nokia's Network Infrastructure division, which has become central to the company's AI and data centre ambitions. The partnership extends well beyond the financial transaction.Nvidia and Nokia plan to work jointly on 6G research, AI powered networking and software optimisation for data centres. As per Nokia, discussions are underway for Nvidia to integrate certain Nokia technologies into future projects. The investment comes at a critical time for Nokia, which is reinventing itself and shifting away from traditional telecom equipment roots towards AI and cloud-based data centre solutions. Nokia's stock soared more than 20% after the announcement. Previously, the company paid $2.3 billion for US-based Infinera Corp., boosting its presence in high-capacity optical networking and AI data centre connectivity. The company recently committed up to $100 billion to OpenAI, following a $100 million investment in 2024, and has even formed an unexpected collaboration with Intel to develop AI infrastructure technologies. While most analysts have praised Nvidia's aggressive investment strategy, some have drawn parallels to the "circular investment" patterns observed during the early 2000s tech boom, when cross-company funding frequently inflated growth narratives.