HELSINKI: Finnish telecom equipment giant Nokia saw its share price surge to a near-decade high on Wednesday after US chipmaker Nvidia announced a USD1 billion investment for a 2.9-per cent stake in the company.
The deal marks the start of a new partnership focused on artificial intelligence (AI), data centres, and future 6G networks.
The announcement, reported Xinhua, sent Nokia shares soaring 20.9 per cent to 6.59 euros (USD7.68) in early trading on the Helsinki exchange – the company’s sharpest one-day rise since October 2000, when it announced it had captured one-third of the global mobile phone market.
The stock later closed at 6.27 euros, its highest level since early 2016.
Under the agreement announced late Tuesday, Nokia will issue 166.4 million new shares to Nvidia at USD6.01 each, giving the American firm roughly a 2.9-per cent stake in the Finnish company.
The partnership will integrate Nokia’s data-centre networking products into Nvidia’s AI infrastructure and jointly develop AI-powered radio technologies for next-generation mobile networks.
Nokia CEO Justin Hotard said the new technology will first be deployed commercially in 5G systems and later extended to 6G, contributing to Nokia’s revenues starting in 2027.
Industry analysts said the agreement could mark a major step in merging AI and telecommunications, with the potential to reshape both the data centre and mobile network markets.
They noted that next-generation networks such as 6G will play a pivotal role in enabling new AI-driven applications and services. (1 euro = USD1.16). – BERNAMA-XINHUA
