NVIDIA and Nokia have announced a strategic partnership to pioneer an AI-powered platform for 6G, marking a major step in the evolution of telecommunications. The collaboration will integrate NVIDIA’s accelerated computing technology into Nokia’s radio access network (RAN) portfolio, enabling communication service providers to deploy AI-native 5G-Advanced and future 6G networks on NVIDIA’s platforms. As part of the deal, NVIDIA will invest $1 billion in Nokia at a subscription price of $6.01 per share, pending customary closing conditions. This investment underscores the growing importance of AI in telecommunications and aims to position the United States as a global leader in next-generation connectivity infrastructure. The partnership introduces AI-RAN — a new class of intelligent networks that combine connectivity, computing, and sensing capabilities. This innovation will allow telecom providers to deliver faster, more efficient, and intelligent services, especially for emerging AI-driven applications like generative AI, agentic systems, augmented and virtual reality, drones, and autonomous vehicles. NVIDIA is launching Aerial RAN Computer Pro (ARC-Pro), a 6G-ready platform that unifies AI and RAN workloads on a software-defined, accelerated infrastructure. The ARC-Pro reference design will be available to manufacturers and network equipment providers, enabling the development of commercial-off-the-shelf and proprietary AI-RAN solutions. Nokia will integrate ARC-Pro into its RAN portfolio, expanding its AirScale baseband architecture to support AI-RAN capabilities across both cloud and purpose-built RAN environments. T-Mobile U.S. will play a key role in testing and validating AI-RAN technologies, with field trials expected to begin in 2026. These trials will assess performance and efficiency improvements, helping ensure seamless experiences for consumers using AI-powered devices. The partnership also leverages Dell Technologies’ high-performance infrastructure, including Dell PowerEdge servers, which are designed for scalable, low-touch upgrades and support the deployment of AI-RAN solutions at scale. These servers will serve as the compute backbone for distributed edge AI, enabling operators to process data closer to the source. NVIDIA’s Jensen Huang emphasized that AI-RAN represents a generational shift in telecommunications, transforming the network into an intelligent, adaptive system. He highlighted that this collaboration will help the U.S. reclaim leadership in critical telecom infrastructure. Nokia’s Justin Hotard noted that the next leap in telecom is not just about moving from 5G to 6G, but fundamentally redesigning networks to be AI-native. He added that the partnership with NVIDIA and T-Mobile will help bring AI data centers into users’ pockets through intelligent, edge-based connectivity. The AI-RAN market is projected to exceed $200 billion cumulatively by 2030, according to Omdia. By combining NVIDIA’s AI computing power with Nokia’s RAN expertise and Dell’s infrastructure, the alliance is creating a scalable, future-proof foundation for the next era of connectivity. Beyond RAN, Nokia and NVIDIA will also collaborate on AI networking solutions, including data center switching using Nokia’s SR Linux software with NVIDIA Spectrum-X Ethernet platforms and the integration of Nokia’s telemetry and fabric management tools into NVIDIA AI infrastructure. Additionally, the companies plan to explore the use of Nokia’s optical technologies in future NVIDIA AI infrastructure designs, further expanding the scope of their collaboration. This partnership signals a transformative moment for telecom, where AI is no longer just an application but a core component of the network itself — paving the way for a smarter, faster, and more responsive digital future.