Nokia Divides AI and Telecom Business Into Two Units

Nokia is dividing its artificial intelligence (AI) and telecom businesses into separate units.

The tech company announced Wednesday (Nov. 19) that its new network infrastructure division would house its AI and data center operations, while its telecoms network operations would become part of its mobile infrastructure unit.

“Nokia changed the world once by connecting people — and will again by connecting intelligence,” said Justin Hotard, Nokia’s president and chief executive, said in a news release.

“As the trusted western provider of secure and advanced connectivity, our technology is powering the AI supercycle.”

The Finland-based company is positioning its network infrastructure business as a “growth segment” designed to capitalize on rapid, global AI and data center build-out.

Projections earlier this year from Citigroup forecast that artificial intelligence spending will exceed $2.8 trillion by 2029. The banking giant has cited investments by hyperscalers and rising demand for enterprise AI use. Citi also forecasts that capital expenditures among hyperscalers — or data center operators — will come to $490 billion by the end of next year, surpassing its previous estimate of $420 billion.

Although the AI and telecoms divisions will be Nokia’s core units, the company also announced it was establishing a new defense division.

Nokia Defense is being launched as an incubation unit to serve as the central go-to-market and research and development hub for Nokia’s defense portfolio, the release added.

“Building on the strong foundation of Nokia Federal Solutions in the US, the company sees further opportunities in the US, Finland and other allied countries to deliver defense-grade solutions based on Nokia’s core technologies in network and mobile infrastructure.”

Nokia’s new artificial intelligence push comes just weeks after the company announced it was receiving a $1 billion investment from Nvidia.

That investment is part of a partnership that involves weaving Nvidia-powered, commercial grade artificial intelligence radio access network (AI-RAN) products into Nokia’s RAN portfolio.

This will let communication service providers launch AI-native 5G-Advanced and 6G networks on Nvidia platforms, Nvidia said in a news release, calling the collaboration “the beginning of the AI-native wireless era.”

The companies say their partnership also addresses the fast-growing AI-RAN market, with the larger RAN market expected to top $200 billion by 2030.

“Telecommunications is a critical national infrastructure — the digital nervous system of our economy and security,” said Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of Nvidia.

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