Nokia and NestAI partner and raise €100 million for physical AI development

Nokia and NestAI have announced a strategic partnership focused on AI driven defense and critical-infrastructure solutions. Along with the partnership, Nokia and the Finnish sovereign fund Tesi will invest a combined €100 million in NestAI. The company develops physical AI systems for unmanned vehicles, autonomous operations and command-and-control platforms used in logistics, inspection, surveillance, security and defense.

Nokia said secure connectivity is becoming central to modern defense as forces adopt dual use AI technologies. To support this shift, Nokia has created a defense incubation unit that works with partners in the United States, Finland and other NATO and Five Eyes countries.

Through this collaboration, Nokia and NestAI will co develop AI native solutions that combine Nokia’s secure connectivity, sensing and multimedia with NestAI’s unmanned systems and C2 platforms. The work aims to advance AI for autonomous systems, data centric command systems and modern information management while deepening collaboration with European defense forces.