After more than a century and a half of industrial and digital transformations, Finnish company Nokia is entering a new phase of reinventing itself, this time through a bold bet on artificial intelligence and data centers.
After being historically known for manufacturing paper and rubber, then for its mobile phones that dominated markets for decades, it is now repositioning itself at the heart of the modern technological revolution.
According to Bloomberg, the partnership it has formed with American tech giant NVIDIA represents a “qualitative leap” in the company’s path towards the digital future.
A Billion-Dollar Investment Redefining Nokia’s Features
Bloomberg clarified that NVIDIA acquired a 2.9% stake in Nokia’s shares worth up to one billion dollars, as part of a strategic cooperation aimed at integrating its advanced computing chips into the 5G and 6G network software being developed by the Finnish company.
NVIDIA will also benefit from Nokia’s expertise in data centers to improve its own AI infrastructure.
Jensen Huang, CEO of NVIDIA, said in an interview with “Bloomberg TV” that he invested in Nokia because he is “extremely excited about the work we are doing together,” describing the cooperation between the two companies as “a truly brilliant idea.”
New Leadership Embracing Digital Transformation
This transformation comes under the leadership of the new CEO Justin Hutterad, who previously led the AI division at Intel, and who seeks to turn Nokia into a major player in global AI infrastructure.
Bloomberg mentioned that the company is thus continuing its historical tradition of changing its industrial skin with each technological era, after it shifted in 2013 from manufacturing mobile phones to telecommunications network equipment.
A Bet on the Future
Analysts cited by Bloomberg believe that this partnership reflects the deeper transformation in Nokia’s identity as an integrated technology company, betting that integrating AI into communication networks and data centers will give it a competitive advantage in the coming decade.
The report added that cooperation with NVIDIA places Nokia “in a unique strategic position between communication infrastructure and artificial intelligence,” at a time when major companies are racing to build the next generation of intelligent computing.
Bloomberg said that Nokia is “hitching its wagon today to one of the strongest horses of the 21st century,” referring to its partnership with NVIDIA, which is seen as a major turning point in the Finnish company’s journey towards a future that relies on artificial intelligence as the heart of its new industry.