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 after the announcement.

Alongside the investment, the two companies 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 and founder. AI-RAN will “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, Amazon and Microsoft.

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Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang at the White House AI Summit in July 2025 (P20250723JB-0398). Image: © Joyce N Boghosian/The White House, United States Government Work via Flickr.