Nokia is radically reinventing itself by pivoting away from traditional telecoms to build the specialized hardware and optical links that power the AI data center industry. This move isn’t just about survival; it’s a total reimagining of what the company does.
By focusing on the infrastructure that enables massive AI models to communicate, they have managed to catch the eye of NVIDIA, which just put $1 billion behind them. For a company that’s gone from making paper and rubber boots to world-famous mobile phones, this shift into the guts of the AI revolution is just the latest version of a brand that refuses to quit.
Nokia aims to develop AI hardware, with NVIDIA’s support
According to a Financial Times report, Nokia is preparing to enter the AI industry with support from NVIDIA. With the aim of developing hardware technologies for AI companies, Nokia’s pivot could become a major milestone in the tech industry. This knack for shedding its old skin is basically Nokia’s superpower. As CEO Justin Hotard points out, the company has always been good at deciding that yesterday’s problem isn’t the one they need to solve today.
The era when Nokia was an absolute titan, contributing 4% of Finland’s GDP and putting a “brick” phone in everyone’s pocket, still prevails in the annals of the tech industry. But then the iPhone arrived, and Nokia famously missed the boat. After a painful period of trying to make Windows phones work and eventually selling off their handset business, it felt like the brand was destined to become a trivia answer rather than a tech leader.
Nevertheless, instead of fading away, Nokia spent the last few years quietly becoming the plumbing of the internet. They bet big on network equipment, buying Alcatel-Lucent and going toe-to-toe with giants like Huawei.
When that market got crowded, they pivoted again, looking toward the “AI supercycle.” By buying up specialists in optical networking, they have positioned themselves as the people who build the “express lanes” for data. They aren’t making the AI itself; they are building the incredibly fast routers and cables that allow AI to actually function.
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Nokia’s entry into the AI industry could have major implications
The $1 billion partnership with NVIDIA has been a massive shot in the arm, proving that even the biggest players in the world see Nokia as a vital part of the future. Their hardware is now being used to link the massive clusters of chips that train tools like ChatGPT.
Of course, there are risks; critics wonder if they are too vulnerable to the volatile AI bubble or if they can really outrun competitors like Cisco. Nonetheless, the leadership seems to thrive on this kind of pressure, stating that their greatest asset is their willingness to fight and their refusal to stay in one lane for too long.
Looking at Nokia’s history, one would realize that their story is never a straight line. They have gone from the addictive simplicity of the game Snake on a monochrome screen to the mind-bendingly complex optical links that power modern intelligence.
They may never be the household name they were in the early 2000s, but they have secured a spot as a critical, if invisible, architect of the modern world. By being brave enough to walk away from their own legacy, this Finnish veteran has shown that the only way to stay relevant in tech is to never stop changing.
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