Mobile World Live brings you our top three picks of the week as Nokia announced CEO Pekka Lundmark’s exit, Europe pushed forward with its AI agenda and tech moguls Sam Altman and Elon Musk sparred over an OpenAI takeover bid.
Nokia to replace CEO Lundmark with Intel executive
What happened: Nokia president and CEO Pekka Lundmark will step down after nearly five years in the role, with Intel’s head of AI and data centres Justin Hotard set to succeed him from 1 April.
Why it matters: Lundmark joined Nokia in 2020, steadying the company after years of turbulence and declining profits by implementing cost cuts and R&D investments. However, the vendor has suffered in recent times, blaming setbacks in the mobile sector. Ian Fogg, industry analyst at CCS Insight, suggested that Hotard’s appointment suggests a shift in Nokia’s strategic direction, predicting that AI will dominate the agenda. While Nokia has a host of AI applications in areas including AI RAN, security and automation, Fogg warns that the new CEO’s focus on the “right” AI opportunities will be crucial to steer the company. “Separating talk from AI substance will be important,” he added.
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Europe accelerates AI push at Paris summit
What happened: In a flurry of announcements at the Paris AI Action Summit, the European Commission (EC) unveiled a €200 billion AI investment plan, French companies Mistral and Orange teamed to boost AI network infrastructure and the US hit out at Europe’s safety strategy around the technology.
Why it matters: Europe is making bold moves to secure its place in the global AI race. The EC’s €200B commitment also includes a €20 billion fund for AI gigafactories to scale AI development across the region. Meanwhile, Orange and Mistral AI’s partnership marks a push to accelerate AI adoption across industries, with Orange CEO Christel Heydemann stating it is integral for “establishing Europe as a global leader in AI”. Amongst the announcements, French President Emmanuel Macron also described his national AI investment plan, as “the equivalent for France of what the US has announced with Stargate”. These moves highlight a sweeping urgency as Europe responds to US and China’s AI dominance. However, it was not all positive. An international AI safety declaration backed by around 60 countries was met with resistance as the US and UK refused to sign on. US Vice President JD Vance called the proposed rules “overly precautionary” and stated he would “like to see that deregulatory flavour making its way into a lot of the conversations at this conference”.
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Altman rebuffs Musk-led $97B bid for OpenAI
What happened: OpenAI CEO Sam Altman rejected a $97.4 billion bid from a consortium led by Elon Musk, in what appeared to be an attempt by the X-owner to halt the ChatGPT-maker’s transition to a for-profit model.
Why it matters: Altman declined the bid and suggested it would purchase X for $9.74 billion instead. Musk, who co-founded OpenAI and departed over clashes with Altman, has repeatedly pushed for the company to abandon its for-profit model and return to its original non-profit roots. Altman has since stated the takeover bid was an attempt by Musk “to slow us down”. As OpenAI moves forward and the AI race heats up, tensions between Musk and Altman have escalated.
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