Nokia, Nvidia collaborate on AI for mobile networks

By Tomi Kilgore

Nokia to use Nvidia chips on AI-ready radio access network (RAN) solutions

Shares of Nokia Corp. rallied Wednesday, after the telecommunications-networking company announced a collaboration with Nvidia Corp. to position artificial intelligence as fundamental for radio access networks (RAN).

"This is an important collaboration with NVIDIA that will explore how artificial intelligence can play a transformative role in the future of our industry," said Tommi Uitto, president of mobile networks at Nokia. "It is a further example of our anyRAN approach that is helping to make Cloud RAN a commercial reality."

Finland-based Nokia (NOK) (FI:NOKIA) has seen its stock trend lower over the past couple of years amid weakness in its networks business. The company reported last month a fourth-quarter loss of EUR33 million ($33.6 million) on revenue that fell 23%.

On Wednesday, Nokia's U.S.-listed stock rose 1.2% in premarket trading. While it has gained 2.1% year to date, the stock has tumbled 25.3% over the past 12 months.

Meanwhile, shares of Nvidia (NVDA), which reports fourth-quarter results after Wednesday's closing bell, have been on a tear, as they have rocketed 236.3% over the past 12 months.

Ahead of Wednesday's open, however, the stock dropped 2%, after sinking 4.4% on Tuesday.

Nokia will use Nvidia's Grace CPU Superchip for processing, with its Layer 1 accelerator technology and Cloud RAN software. Nokia will also use Nvidia chips for AI applications and RAN acceleration, which will pave the way for "AI-RAN."

The idea is to remove complexity and provide flexibility, to allow customers to get their Cloud RAN services up and running much faster.

"Bringing the power of Nvidia's advanced computing to Nokia's platform will deliver more performant and energy-efficient Cloud RAN solutions," said Ronnie Vasishta, senior vice president of telecom at Nvidia.

-Tomi Kilgore

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02-21-24 0715ET

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