#SaudiArabia #LEAP5 - Telecommunications equipment vendor Nokia has opened its first research and development center in Riyadh, focusing on AI-powered network automation and orchestration software. The facility will specialize in Service Management and Orchestration (SMO), Self-Organizing Networks (SON), Autopilot, and rApps to make communication networks operate more autonomously. Beyond building local infrastructure capabilities, the facility aims to establish high-value research roles, train Saudi engineers, and export Made-in-Saudi software innovations to global markets. The launch follows an agreement signed earlier this year between Nokia President and CEO Justin Hotard and H.E. Abdullah Alswaha Minister of Communications and Information Technology,
SO WHAT? - Moving beyond hardware sales to open a local R&D facility allows Nokia to embed its automation software directly into the Kingdom’s telecom operators while supporting Saudi Arabia’s national effort to transform itself from a technology importer into a technology exporter. The telecom technology firm aims to begin recruiting Saudi nationals for the R&D hub immediately and invited eligible candidates to contact Nokia at LEAP to enquire.
KEY POINTS:
Telecommunications supplier Nokia opened its first research and development facility in Riyadh to create AI-driven network automation software.
The center focuses on Service Management and Orchestration (SMO), Self-Organizing Networks (SON), Autopilot, and rApps to automate energy efficiency and network self-healing.
R&D teams at the site will conduct early-stage research into AI-native 6G capabilities alongside current autonomous network software.
The investment creates specialized software engineering roles alongside advanced training boot camps and AI certification programs for national talent.
Developed software will be deployed across domestic telecom service providers before being exported to Nokia’s global client base as “Made in Saudi” technology.
The facility relies on a co-innovation model, collaborating with Saudi universities, research institutions, and industrial partners to scale operational use cases.
The launch executes on a bilateral strategic agreement reached earlier this year between Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology and Nokia executive leadership.
ZOOM OUT - Nokia Bell Labs is Nokia’s global industrial research arm headquartered in Murray Hill, New Jersey. With a century of innovation behind it (including eleven Nobel Prizes and the development of Unix, C++, and the transistor) Bell Labs acts as Nokia's core engine for breakthrough technologies. The new Saudi facility links local software teams to global R&D sites across Europe, Asia, and North America, funneling fundamental research in AI-native air interfaces, semantic reasoning, and autonomous self-healing architectures into deployable enterprise products. This connection ensures local engineers will not just customise software, but help shape global 6G standards alongside Nokia’s top international scientists.
[Written and edited with the assistance of AI]
Source: Nokia
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