Nokia’s Chief Executive, Justin Hotard, believes artificial intelligence (AI) is driving a long-term economic shift. He compares it to the internet boom of the 1990s. Despite growing debate, he downplayed fears of an AI investment bubble.
Experts are raising questions about the sustainability of the current surge in AI spending. In an interview with Reuters, Hotard expressed a positive perspective, stating, “I truly believe we are at the beginning of an AI supercycle, similar to the Internet boom of the 1990s.”
He acknowledged that a market downturn is possible. However, he stressed that the long-term trends for AI are “very favourable.” This perspective contrasts with a recent Bank of America survey. That survey found more than half of fund managers see AI stocks as overvalued.
Our President and CEO, Justin Hotard shares the top 3 takeaways from our Q3 2025 financial results.
Read full report: https://t.co/i68uCf11fV pic.twitter.com/2shJYMztnm
— Nokia (@nokia) October 23, 2025The debate has not slowed the massive demand for AI infrastructure. Companies are racing to build data centers to support new AI technologies.
Hotard, who previously led Intel’s data center group, confirmed this trend. He stated that Nokia is seeing growth “across the board.” This includes large tech firms and smaller players expanding in Europe. “Clearly the incremental growth investment is driven by data centers,” he said. “It’s a huge step up in volume.”
Nokia’s push into AI is its biggest strategic shift in over a decade. The company recently reported strong quarterly earnings. This performance was helped by high demand for optical and cloud networking, including sales to AI data centers.
Read: Nokia Acquires Infinera for $2.3 Billion to Boost Optical Networking Business
The company is weaving AI into its core network businesses. A key move was the acquisition of US firm Infinera, a major player in data center communications. To accelerate this shift, Nokia created a new Technology and AI organization in September. It is led by former Intel executive Pallavi Mahajan.
