Nokia and NVIDIA have announced a strategic partnership to integrate NVIDIA-powered AI-RAN (Artificial Intelligence Radio Access Network) products into Nokia’s industry-leading RAN portfolio. As part of the deal, NVIDIA will invest $1 billion in Nokia, subscribing at a price of $6.01 per share, marking a major milestone in advancing AI-native 5G-Advanced and 6G networks.
This collaboration ushers in the beginning of the AI-native wireless era, enabling communication service providers to deploy AI-driven, adaptive, and intelligent networks capable of processing data closer to the user — at the network edge — to reduce latency and enhance efficiency and reliability.
The partnership also targets the rapidly expanding AI-RAN market, which analyst firm Omdia projects to exceed a cumulative $200 billion by 2030. Together, NVIDIA and Nokia are laying the foundation for distributed edge AI inferencing at scale — a critical step toward future-proofing global telecom infrastructure.
T-Mobile U.S. will join the collaboration, testing and deploying AI-RAN technologies as part of its 6G innovation process, with field trials expected to begin in 2026 to validate performance and energy efficiency improvements for customers.
Jensen Huang, Founder and CEO of NVIDIA, emphasized:
“Telecommunications is 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.”
Meanwhile, Justin Hotard, President and CEO of Nokia, noted:
“Our partnership with NVIDIA, and their investment in Nokia, will accelerate AI-RAN innovation to put an AI data center into everyone’s pocket. We’re proud to drive this industry transformation with NVIDIA, Dell Technologies, and T-Mobile U.S.”
The partnership also introduces NVIDIA’s Aerial RAN Computer Pro (ARC-Pro) — a 6G-ready accelerated computing platform that unifies connectivity, computing, and sensing on one architecture. Nokia plans to embed ARC-Pro within its AirScale baseband platform, ensuring seamless software-defined evolution from 5G to 6G.
Additionally, Dell Technologies is providing its PowerEdge servers to power Nokia’s AI-RAN systems, enabling scalable deployments and automated upgrades that pave the way for next-generation connectivity.
In essence, this alliance positions Nokia and NVIDIA at the heart of the telecom transformation — enabling operators to unlock the full potential of AI-driven networks, reduce energy consumption, enhance monetization opportunities, and future-proof their investments for the 6G era and beyond.
