NVIDIA and Nokia Partner to Integrate AI into 5G Networks

NVIDIA and Nokia have formed a partnership to integrate AI-RAN compute capabilities directly into cell site edges, allowing telecommunications carriers to run connectivity and AI workloads on a single physical infrastructure. The collaboration deploys Nokia's radio access network software on hardware from partners including Supermicro and Dell Technologies, powered by the NVIDIA Aerial RAN Computer platform and AI Enterprise software.

NVIDIA and Nokia are advancing this AI-native Radio Access Network toward commercial deployment and physical AI to improve 5G signal processing, network capacity, and spectral efficiency. As part of the initiative, the companies launched a sovereign agentic AI platform for telco autonomy. The edge ARC-Pro node provides up to 1.6 PFLOPS of FP4 inference at the cell site for low-latency applications like vision and voice AI. While ARC MGX servers are available now, the 2U ARC-Pro is scheduled for customer testing in late 2026 with general availability in the first half of 2027.

Several European operators are already testing these capabilities. Elisa demonstrated simultaneous voice, data, and video analytics in Helsinki, while Deutsche Telekom reported uplink throughput improvements of 10–15% in laboratory tests. BT is preparing a live-network trial in Birmingham for 2027. This shift positions mobile operators as a new class of GPU buyers, expanding the market for NVIDIA silicon beyond traditional data centers.