Nokia and European physical AI lab NestAI are launching a strategic partnership, in tandem with NestAI announcing a €100 million funding round led by Nokia and Tesi (Finnish Industry Investment Ltd). While the partnership focuses on advancing physical AI for defense, security and critical infrastructure, the new funding will enable NestAI to scale up its operations and expand the deployment of its next-generation physical AI platforms.
NestAI has emerged as one of the fastest growing physical AI labs in Europe, building next-generation AI for unmanned vehicles, autonomous operations and command and control (C2) platforms across the logistics, inspection, surveillance, security and defense domains. Today, the company employs around 70 world-class AI scientists and engineers, and expects to exceed 200 by the end of 2026.
Connectivity is now a strategic asset in defense, empowering AI-driven, faster, and more informed decision-making. As defense forces increasingly adopt AI-native dual-use technologies, Nokia has launched a dedicated defense business unit to accelerate co-innovation with partners in the U.S., Finland and other NATO and Five Eyes countries.
Through the strategic partnership, NestAI and Nokia will jointly innovate defense-focused, AI-native solutions by combining NestAI’s platforms in unmanned systems, C2 systems and next-generation AI with Nokia’s expertise in secure, AI-native connectivity, sensing and multimedia. Together, the companies’ products will also leverage strong capabilities in forward-deployed engineering and R&D with the ambition to accelerate the development of AI capabilities into unmanned systems, data-centric C2, and modern information and knowledge management. This further accelerates and deepens the collaboration with European defense forces and other partners.
“At Nokia, we believe that the future of defense and critical infrastructure will be defined by secure, AI-native solutions. Our strategic partnership with NestAI is a testament to our commitment to innovation and to Finland’s leadership in advanced technologies. By combining Nokia’s expertise in secure advanced connectivity with NestAI’s pioneering platforms, we are accelerating the development of next-generation capabilities for defense and national safety. This investment reflects our shared ambition to shape the future of AI-driven solutions,” said Justin Hotard, Nokia’s President and CEO.
“Strategic partnerships are imperative to strengthen Europe’s sovereignty, security and resilience. In line with PostScriptum’s mission, NestAI was founded to deliver mission-critical physical AI capabilities at scale and to safeguard Europe’s sovereignty. Nokia’s role as a cornerstone of Nordic technology and innovation enables us to accelerate our impact and deepen the operational advantage NestAI brings to European defense. The Finnish sovereign fund Tesi brings institutional stability and long-term perspective to build resilient technological leadership. This partnership lays the foundation for a future in which Europe sustains a technological edge, and allows NestAI to deliver at scale,” states Peter Sarlin, Chairman of NestAI and PostScriptum.
“We recognise the role of NestAI as a potential cornerstone technology provider to mission critical defense and security environments to European customers. Our investment into NestAI is consistent with Tesi’s renewed investment strategy where we seek Finnish companies with outlier-type potential in strategic sectors. Our investment is also based on conviction about the highly capable team – combining thought leadership with world-class engineering capabilities – delivering strong growth and value appreciation for investors,” states Juha Lehtola, Head of VC & Growth investments at Tesi.
NestAI is part of the PostScriptum ecosystem, building physical AI for Europe’s defense and critical infrastructure. Peter Sarlin serves as Executive Chairman.