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Nvidia Corp. is taking a $1 billion equity stake in Nokia Oyj and plans to supply the telecom company with artificial-intelligence powered computers for wireless networks. Nokia shares jumped the most in more than a decade. Nokia will issue about 166 million shares to Nvidia at $6.01 each as part of the deal, giving Nvidia a 2.9% stake, the companies said in a statement. 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 own AI infrastructure, they said. Nokia, best known for selling mobile network parts, has been pushing into data centers — a business that’s growing thanks to the artificial intelligence boom driving demand for computing capacity. The move has paid off, helping Nokia beat Wall Street’s earnings estimates last quarter. The Espoo, Finland-based company earlier this year bought Infinera Corp. for $2.3 billion to expand into networking products for AI data centers. Nokia shares soar 21% as CEO Hotard leads bold revival push Shares of Nokia jumped 21% in Helsinki, the biggest gain since 2013. Once an iconic 1990s brand that dominated the mobile phone market, Nokia has faded from popular culture after losing ground to rivals and pivoting to network services. Chief Executive Officer Justin Hotard is leading a turnaround of the Nordic company, emphasizing its position as the only Western alternative to Huawei Technologies Co. for supplying the entire portfolio of communications equipment, from 5G radios to fiber optic cables. In a throwback to the same era, some analysts and academics have begun to draw comparisons between the circular deals that Nvidia has struck in recent months with customers like Nokia and those done in the 1990s leading up to the dot-com bubble’s burst. At the time, cross-selling between startups inflated growth projections. Jensen Huang calls Nokia tie-up “genius” amid 6G ambitions During an interview with Bloomberg TV on Tuesday, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said he invested in Nokia because he was excited about the work Nvidia is doing with Nokia and wanted to be “part of this incredible success that we’re creating together.” He described his decision to take a stake as “pretty genius.” As part of the companies’ arrangement, Nvidia will supply Nokia with a new product — a programmable computer that’s capable of communicating wirelessly, running AI processing and directing mobile traffic at the same time. “Nokia is going to work with us to integrate our technology and rewrite their stack,” Huang said at an Nvidia event in Washington. “It’s been a long time since the American telecommunications network has been built on American technology.” Wireless phone networks are shifting from being built around discrete pieces of hardware to being run by more standard computers defined by software. The next generation of wireless connections – 6G – will be characterized by its AI uses, Nvidia said. The company is working with Nokia to build gear based on new software and chips that it has developed for that market. Nvidia expands global AI footprint with new tech investments T-Mobile US Inc. will begin trials next year, Nvidia said. In a joint interview with Huang on Bloomberg TV, Hotard said that he expects “full commercial production” in 2027. Nokia’s aim is to process data closer to the user, so there’s less lag in sending data. Calling the shift a “fundamental redesign of the network,” Hotard wrote in a statement that the move “will accelerate AI-RAN innovation to put an AI data center into everyone’s pocket.” Nvidia has been on a spending spree in recent months. The company said it will invest as much as $100 billion into OpenAI and will fund autonomous vehicle companies Wayve and Oxa, fintech Revolut and AI companies like PolyAI. The company also will invest in a German data center alongside Deutsche Telekom AG, Bloomberg News reported earlier. Hotard emphasized the Nvidia deal is not exclusive, meaning the chip giant could turn around and sign an agreement with Nokia’s competitor Ericsson. “If we’re all under pressure to innovate and do our best, it’s not exclusive either way, then we’re all going to continue to compete and move at pace,” he said in a separate interview with Bloomberg News. European policymakers and tech executives alike have been talking for months about the need for the bloc to develop its own AI ecosystem and catch up to rivals in the US and China. Huang and other tech industry leaders have criticized Europe for being too slow to develop its own infrastructure and supporting companies that want to use AI while keeping their data within the region. During US President Donald Trump’s first term, his administration raised the possibility of the US government and its allies investing in one of the two Western network vendors. Hotard stressed that Nvidia’s investment is not a government-sponsored move. “This is two private companies coming together yet to build something that we think is going to be beneficial for the ecosystem,” he said. More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com Published on October 29, 2025
