Nokia CEO compares AI surge to 1990s internet boom, but plays down bubble fears

By Gianluca Lo Nostro

-Nokia's CEO Justin Hotard said artificial intelligence is driving a long-term growth trend that resembles the internet boom of the 1990s, but downplayed concerns about a potential bubble.

Hotard's remarks come amid growing debate over whether the surge in AI investment is sustainable.

"I fundamentally think we're at the front end of an AI supercycle, much like the 1990s with the internet," Hotard said in an interview with Reuters. "Even if there's a bubble, a trough, we'll look to the longer-term trends. And right now, all those trends are very favourable."

A Bank of America survey this month showed that more than half of fund managers believe AI stocks are in a bubble.

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman have also cautioned that investor excitement could lead to major losses.

Still, demand for data centres is rising sharply as companies race to build the infrastructure needed to support AI.

Hotard, who led Intel's data centres and AI group before joining Nokia in April, said the company is seeing this growth "across the board," from large tech firms to smaller players expanding in Europe.

"Clearly the incremental, growth investment is driven by data centres," he said. "It's a huge step up in volume."

Earlier on Thursday, the Finnish telecoms equipment maker reported quarterly earnings that beat market expectations, helped by strong optical and cloud demand, including sales to AI-driven data centres after its acquisition of U.S. optical networking firm Infinera.

Nokia's push into AI marks its biggest shift since selling its mobile phone unit in 2013.

While mobile networks remain its core business, the company is weaving AI into areas such as radio access and fibre networks.

Last year, it bought Infinera, one of the largest vendors for intra data centre communications.

In September, Nokia set up a dedicated Technology and AI organisation led by newly-appointed Chief Technology Officer Pallavi Mahajan, a former Intel executive, to accelerate its AI efforts.

(Reporting by Gianluca Lo Nostro; Editing by Matt Scuffham)