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NVIDIA and Nokia announced a strategic partnership to add NVIDIA-powered, commercial-grade AI-RAN (Radio Access Network) products to Nokia’s RAN portfolio, enabling communication service providers to launch AI-native 5G-Advanced and 6G networks on NVIDIA platforms. The partnership is intended to provide the foundation to support AI-powered consumer experiences and enterprise services at the edge. NVIDIA will also invest $1 billion in Nokia, subject to customary closing conditions.
NVIDIA and Nokia are looking to provide strategic infrastructure and open up a new high-growth frontier for telecom providers by delivering distributed edge AI inferencing at scale. T-Mobile US will also collaborate with Nokia and NVIDIA to drive and test AI-RAN technologies as part of the 6G innovation and development process. Trials are expected to begin in 2026, focused on field validation of performance and efficiency gains for customers.
The move is intended to 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.
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 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 enables Nokia’s AI-RAN solution with its state-of-the-art Dell PowerEdge servers.
Future-Proofed for 6G
Nokia and NVIDIA’s AI-RAN platform unifies AI and radio access workloads on a software-defined, accelerated infrastructure. New capabilities are added through software updates, future-proofing investments for 6G and beyond. 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.
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.
Find out more about ARC’s coverage of Industrial AI’s Role in the Digital Transformation of Industry and Digital Transformation at the Industrial Edge, including the market for industrial cellular routers.