Recent adjustments in NVIDIA's 13F regulatory filing have drawn attention to its increased stake in Nokia Oyj. The AI computing giant not only divested its remaining shares in Arm Holdings and exited positions in AI ecosystem players like Applied Digital, but also significantly raised its stake in Intel and initiated a new position in Synopsys. Among these moves, the approximately 2.9% stake acquired in Nokia Oyj is particularly thought-provoking.
Why has Nokia Oyj, having shed its identity as a mobile phone giant, garnered favor from NVIDIA's CEO Jensen Huang? What strategic considerations lie behind this decision to increase the stake?
Today's Nokia Oyj has long moved away from the consumer electronics sector, transforming into a leading global telecommunications equipment supplier currently on a steady upward trajectory: its U.S. stock closed at $7.77 per share, with the share price rising 27.59% over the past three months, bringing its total market capitalization to approximately $44.617 billion.
In terms of business, Nokia Oyj possesses deep expertise in areas such as 5G access, base station software, and optical communications. Following its acquisition of Infinera in 2024, the company further strengthened its core capabilities, including high-speed optical fiber transmission, positioning it as one of the few firms capable of offering complete communications infrastructure solutions. Its technological and channel advantages in network communications and edge computing are precisely the critical supports needed for the current development of the AI industry.
Jensen Huang's decision to increase the stake in Nokia Oyj is far from a random financial investment; it is a calculated move aligning precisely with his "Physical AI" strategy. As early as CES 2026, Huang explicitly stated that "Physical AI" would initiate a new industrial revolution, the core prerequisite of which is the deep integration of computing power and networks. While NVIDIA's core strength lies in GPUs and AI accelerators, giving it firm control over AI compute capabilities, its involvement in network infrastructure, optical communications, and edge access is relatively limited—areas where Nokia Oyj excels.
Huang's strategy is clear: by increasing the stake to forge a closer relationship with Nokia Oyj, he aims to achieve mutual empowerment between "compute power" and "networks." This move can help embed NVIDIA's AI computing platforms deeper into communication networks, supporting Nokia Oyj's 5G/6G software upgrades, while also leveraging Nokia Oyj's channels and technology to extend NVIDIA's compute advantage into the telecommunications infrastructure arena, paving the way for the implementation of Physical AI.
When viewed alongside NVIDIA's broader investment adjustments, Huang's strategic intent becomes even clearer—this stake increase is a significant part of a shift from a "diversified portfolio" towards a "core focus," rather than a sudden impulse. Previously, investments in companies like Applied Digital and WeRide were aimed at broadly covering the AI industry chain to capture early growth opportunities. The current strategy of divesting non-core holdings and focusing on Nokia Oyj, Intel, and Synopsys essentially represents a consolidation of efforts around the core components of AI infrastructure, demonstrating that the fundamental goal of building a complete AI infrastructure ecosystem remains unchanged.
Specifically, Jensen Huang's strategic layout has formed a clear, closed loop, with the increased stake in Nokia Oyj being just one crucial step. Raising the stake in Intel aims to deepen chip manufacturing cooperation, address AI chip production bottlenecks, and solidify the foundational layer of compute power. Increasing the holding in Nokia Oyj serves to shore up weaknesses in network communications, providing low-latency network support for scenarios like Physical AI and edge computing, thereby bridging the "last mile" for deploying compute power. Initiating a position in Synopsys strengthens synergy between chip design and compute hardware, reducing AI chip development costs and improving efficiency. These three elements complement each other, collectively pointing towards a closed-loop ecosystem encompassing "compute power - networks - chip design," which is Huang's current core strategic direction.
NVIDIA's divestment of its Arm Holdings stake and exit from positions like Applied Digital further corroborate this strategic intent. After the failed attempt to acquire Arm, NVIDIA's holding was more of a financial investment, and Arm's business overlaps with Synopsys, failing to support the core "compute power + network" needs, making divestment necessary. Exiting Applied Digital allows for profit-taking and refocusing efforts, avoiding distraction from non-core areas to concentrate fully on foundational infrastructure布局—all of which aligns with Huang's strategic plan to bind Nokia Oyj and construct a core ecosystem.
In essence, Jensen Huang's increased stake in Nokia Oyj is a move to address gaps and build a closed loop for his "Physical AI" strategy; it is by no means accidental. His core objective is to, by leveraging Nokia Oyj's network infrastructure strengths combined with the synergistic efforts of Intel and Synopsys, gain control over the two critical pillars of the AI industry—compute power and networks—thereby consolidating NVIDIA's dominant position in the AI infrastructure domain and responding to industry competition. Behind this seemingly simple stake increase lies Jensen Huang's long-term ambition to shape the future of the AI industry.