Telecommunications giant Nokia Corp. plans to invest $4 billion in research, development, and production in collaboration with the Trump administration to spur faster innovation in artificial intelligence (AI) network infrastructure in the U.S.
“Our expanded investment will help strengthen the nation’s capacity to deliver greater security, productivity, and prosperity through AI-optimized connectivity at scale,” Nokia said in a statement on Friday.
The latest mega-major commitment to domestic AI infrastructure under the Trump administration will allocate $3.5 billion toward domestic research and development focused on AI-ready networking technologies, with operations centered at Nokia Bell Labs in New Jersey. An additional $500 million will support manufacturing and R&D facilities across New Jersey, Texas, and Pennsylvania.
Nokia’s outlay follows announcements from other tech firms including Anthropic, OpenAI, Oracle Corp., SoftBank Group, Meta Platforms Inc., and Apple Inc., who have pledged investments trillions of dollars toward U.S. AI infrastructure this year, feeding into a hyperactive growth cycle that has also raised debt, risk and — yes — whispers of an AI bubble.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick called Nokia’s financial injection “another Trump administration win for America.” He said Nokia’s focus on optical chip manufacturing and development would ensure cutting-edge technologies for AI, data centers, and national security applications are produced domestically.
The investment comes as Nokia repositions to capitalize on the AI boom under CEO Justin Hotard, who assumed the role in April. The company has experienced increased demand for network infrastructure from AI and cloud customers, according to The Wall Street Journal.
On Wednesday, Nokia announced it will streamline operations, restructure its leadership team a,nd pursue additional innovation partnerships as part of its strategic pivot toward AI and cloud-computing growth, the Journal reported.
The move follows NVIDIA Corp.’s $1 billion stake in Nokia last month as part of a partnership on AI networking technology.
“Our expanded investment will help strengthen the nation’s capacity to deliver greater security, productivity and prosperity through AI-optimized connectivity at scale while advancing the newest research and innovation that will shape the future of networking for the years to come,” Hotard said.
