US semiconductor giant Nvidia has announced a $1 billion investment in Finnish telecommunications equipment maker Nokia, acquiring a 2.9 percent stake as part of an expanded strategic partnership between the two companies.
The collaboration aims to accelerate the development of next-generation 5G and 6G technologies, integrating Nvidia’s advanced AI and graphics processing capabilities into Nokia’s network infrastructure solutions.
In a statement on Tuesday, Nokia said both companies will jointly develop AI-powered networking systems and explore opportunities to integrate its data centre switching and optical technologies into Nvidia’s future AI infrastructure.
Under the terms of the agreement, Nokia will issue more than 166 million new shares to Nvidia at $6.01 per share.
The investment is expected to strengthen Nokia’s position in the AI and cloud networking market, enhancing its ability to deliver data-centre-aligned and high-performance network solutions.
Following the announcement, Nokia’s shares surged by nearly 20 percent, trading at €7.53 in early market hours.
Nvidia, now one of the world’s most valuable technology companies, continues to broaden its influence beyond semiconductors, driven by soaring demand for its graphics processing units (GPUs) the key hardware powering artificial intelligence systems such as ChatGPT and other advanced machine-learning models.
The move signals a growing convergence between the telecommunications and AI technology industries, as global players prepare for the next wave of AI-integrated 6G networks.
