Nokia announced long-term strategic partnerships with America’s Frontier Fund (AFF), Roadrunner Venture Studios (RVS) and Celesta Capital to commercialize deep technologies from Nokia Bell Labs.
The venture partners will invest in and help develop technologies incubated and developed within Nokia Bell Labs, forming independent venture-backed companies.
Celesta Capital is a venture capital firm specializing in investments in disruptive technology companies and entrepreneurs. The firm is based in San Francisco.
Key areas of focus and collaboration are expected to include:
- Advanced Communications: Foundational communication technologies that will enable 5G and 6G networks and emerging use cases powering smart cities, factories, precision farming, Internet of Things (IoT), robotics, and connectivity.
- AI and Deep Learning: Autonomous annotation, synthetic data generation, and analytics.
- Next-Generation Semiconductor Fabrication: scaling of near-terahertz RF technology to unlock new applications
- Sensors: novel biomedical and environmental sensors including MEMS-based optical sensors.
- Quantum Computing: advanced cubit architectures for scale-out computing and next generation data centers.
“Celesta Capital is thrilled to collaborate with Nokia, with its unparalleled strength in industrial research and rich technology portfolio,” said Sriram Viswanathan, Founding Managing Partner of Celesta Capital. “We believe this partnership with Nokia Bell Labs leverages Celesta Capital’s unique strengths in identifying, nurturing and developing high potential technologies into the leading deep tech companies of tomorrow.”
“Nokia Bell Labs is a leader in innovation with a robust IP portfolio and research expertise,” said Nishant Batra, Chief Strategy and Technology Officer (CSTO) of Nokia. “Partnering with a leading deep tech venture firm like Celesta, with its strong investment acumen and operational experience, will allow us to scale and lead new startups in key technology areas that will create long-term value for Nokia.”