Nvidia announced it will make a $1 billion equity investment in Nokia, according to Nokia’s official release and exchange filing. The acquisition marks a 2.90 % stake in Nokia, through the issuance of 166,389,351 new shares at $6.01 per share. Nokia will use the proceeds to accelerate its ‘trusted connectivity for the AI supercycle’ and other corporate goals, the release said.
What the partnership means for 5G & AI
The investment comes paired with a strategic partnership that will see Nvidia’s accelerated computing technology integrated into Nokia’s 5G-Advanced and upcoming 6G network platforms. The collaboration emphasises the convergence of telecom infrastructure and AI, targeting the high-growth AI-RAN (radio access network) market. The RAN market is expected to exceed a cumulative $200 billion by 2030, according to analyst firm Omdia.
Nokia and NVIDIA have agreed to work on AI-powered networking. They’re also looking into ways to use Nokia’s data center and optical tech in NVIDIA’s future AI systems.
Commenting on the partnership, Nvidia’s CEO Jensen Huang 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.”
The announcement also comes at a time when Huang is speaking to government leaders and policymakers at the company’s developer conference in Washington, D.C. Nokia and Nvidia are also expected to share updates about their work together during the event.
Strategic implications of the deal
Nokia’s shares soared as much as 21% following the announcement, charging to levels not seen in a decade. The deal also highlights Nvidia’s broader strategy of anchoring its AI hardware strength into infrastructure beyond data centres. The tie-up reinforces the notion that the future of connectivity will be built on AI-powered network infrastructure.
Source: Yahoo Finance