Nvidia takes $1 billion stake in Nokia
BARCELONA, SPAIN – FEBRUARY 26: An illuminated logo stands at the Nokia booth at Mobile World Congress 2024 on February 26, 2024 in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo: Xavi Torrent/Getty Images)
Xavi Torrent | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Nokia’s announced on tuesday Nvidia It will acquire new Nokia shares for $1 billion, the latest equity stake from the AI chip giant’s strategic partner.
Nokia shares rose 20% following the news.
Nokia will issue more than 166 million new shares. Nokia said it would use the proceeds to fund its plans for artificial intelligence and other general corporate purposes.
The two companies also signed a strategic partnership to work together to develop next-generation 6G cellular technology. Nokia said it will adapt its 5G and 6G software to run on Nvidia chips and collaborate on networking technology for artificial intelligence.
Nokia said it would consider incorporating Nvidia’s technology into its future AI infrastructure plans.
Nokia, a Finnish company, is best known for its first mobile phones, but in recent years it has primarily been a supplier of 5G cellular equipment to telecom providers.
The announcement comes as Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang prepares to address an audience of policymakers and government leaders in Washington, D.C., to keynote the company’s developer conference. At the conference, Nokia and Nvidia are expected to discuss some of their collaborations and plans.
Nvidia has made a number of stock purchases from strategic partners in recent months as the company finds itself at the center of the artificial intelligence world. In September, it pledged to invest $5 billion in onetime rival Intel and announced it would invest $100 billion in OpenAI. It has also committed to investing $500 million in self-driving car startup Wayve and $667 million in U.K. cloud provider Nscale.
