Nokia and NVIDIA Expand AI-RAN Trials, Evaluating GPUs for AI-Driven 5G

Key Takeaways

• Nokia is exploring AI-RAN capabilities with new partnerships.
• The Finnish telecom company is working with Nvidia to assess the usage of their advanced chips to enable AI-RAN.
• Nokia said that 6G will be AI-native.

Nokia has announced it is expanding its collaboration with Nvidia to test GPU-powered artificial intelligence Radio Access Networks (AI-RAN) for 5G and beyond.

The Finnish telecom giant’s announcement signals a potential shift from relying on its proprietary accelerator cards as the industry looks toward 6G’s potential.

Nokia Explores AI-RAN

At the Mobile World Congress 2025 in Finland, Nokia outlined the advancements it had made with its collaborators: Nvidia, KDDI, T-Mobile, and SoftBank.

Over the past twelve months, Nokia said it had been working closely with Nvidia to explore the chip maker’s accelerated computing infrastructure enabling AI-RAN in its devices.

Nokia has also formed a strategic partnership with telecom company KDDI to research the practical applications of AI-RAN, intending to make it commercially viable in the future.

KDDI and Nokia’s research will explore how AI-RAN can boost user experience and create new monetization opportunities.

The research will also focus on how AI applications can reduce 5G network costs and power consumption.

Kazuhiro Furuhata, Executive Officer & General Manager, Network Node Technical Development Division Core Technology Sector at KDDI, said:

“We are thrilled to have signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Nokia to collaborate on the research and development of AI-RAN.”

“This collaboration will accelerate the path to commercial viability by exploring practical applications of AI-powered networks,” Furuhata added.

Furuhata said the company anticipates that AI-RAN will unlock “significant network optimization, enhance user experiences, reduce costs, and generate new services and revenue.”

The Road to 6G

Nokia believes that 6G will not work without AI , making its shift to AI-RAN a crucial part of its future plans.

“In practice, 6G will be AI-native with AI being considered right from the beginning of the design process,” Tommi Uitto, President of Mobile Networks at Nokia said.

As the industry moves towards 6G, traditional RAN architectures will struggle to handle the complexity and massive device connectivity that next-generation networks require.

AI-RAN can help overcome these challenges by optimizing resource allocation and improving signal processing.

“The convergence of AI, RAN, and Cloud, and 6G evolution are not just changing how we build and monetize radio access networks – they are empowering us to create a future filled with unprecedented opportunities,” Uitto said.

AI-RAN Alliance

In February 2024, Nokia and other mobile networks launched the AI-RAN Alliance, a telecoms sector initiative to help boost the integration of AI into cellular technology.

The alliance brought together several members from technology, industry, and academic institutions, with members including Amazon Web Services, Arm, Microsoft and SoftBank.

The alliance aims to reduce power consumption while updating existing infrastructure to support new opportunities.

“AI will fundamentally change the way wireless services are deployed and enable broad innovation and operational efficiency across the telco sector,” Senior Vice President of Arm, Mohamed Awad, said.

“The AI-RAN Alliance brings together industry-shaping companies with expertise from silicon through software to deliver on the promise of ubiquitous AI and 6G,” Awad added.