Nokia has continued its push into the networking and data center markets, partnering with Supermicro to offer integrated, AI-optimized solutions.

The team-up will see Supermicro and Nokia offer an integrated stack aimed at AI, high-performance computing (HPC), and cloud environments, combining the former’s switching hardware with the latter’s data center automation and network operating system.

Supermicro’s 800G Ethernet switching platforms will support Nokia offerings like its Service Router Linux (SR Linux) network operating system and its Event-Driven Automation (EDA) solutions to automate entire data center network operations.

According to the pair, the joint offering will provide end users with a solution capable of reducing deployment time and operating costs while improving overall efficiency.

“This collaboration gives our customers more choice and flexibility in how they build their infrastructure,” Cenly Chen, chief growth officer, SVP, and managing director at Supermicro, noted. “It strengthens our ability to deliver networked compute architectures for high-performance workloads, while simplifying orchestration and automation with a unified platform.”

Vach Kompella, SVP and GM of Nokia’s IP networks division, said the partnership provides it with “greater reach into the enterprise market through Supermicro’s extensive channels and direct sales, aligning with our strategy to expand in cloud, HPC, and AI-driven infrastructure.”

Nokia has been making strides to drive further into the data center space. Ex-Intel data center exec Justin Hotard was brought in as CEO to lead Nokia’s market pivot, while Sari Baldauf, chair of Nokia’s board of directors, said at the turn of the year that the AI and data center markets were “critical areas” for the company’s growth.

In recent months, the Finnish firm launched its Autonomous Networks Fabric, a suite of AI models, tools, and apps designed to power network automation, developed in partnership with hyperscale giant Google Cloud.

Nokia’s networking offers are a big part of its data center push, with David Heard, the former CEO of the recently acquired Infinera, given the task of leading its Network Infrastructure (NI) business unit. It was Infinera and its network infrastructure offering that were the shining light of Nokia’s recent earnings, with its new optical network offerings a gleam of positivity in an otherwise flat financial performance.

Work begins on Bell Labs' new home

In addition to its Supermicro team-up, its Bell Labs research and development business recently broke ground on a new facility in New Jersey.

The 10-story building in New Brunswick will be set to replace the legendary Murray Hill campus, Bell Labs’s home for the past 80 years, providing a more modern facility to accommodate Nokia's future research needs.

Set to open in 2028, the 370,000-square-foot building will house some 1,000 staff who will work on future technology solutions spanning semiconductors, optics, and quantum computing.

Work beginning on its new Bell Labs site came the same week Nokia opened its new radio research campus in Oulu, Finland. Construction on that site began in 2022 and features research and development, manufacturing facilities, as well as office space and a sauna.