Palo Alto Networks announced a new ecosystem of partnerships aimed at securing the emerging infrastructure behind large-scale artificial intelligence deployments, which the company describes as “AI Factories.” The initiative, unveiled at Mobile World Congress 2026 in Barcelona, brings together collaborations with Nokia, U Mobile, Aeris, and Celerway to help enterprises and telecom providers scale sovereign AI and protect increasingly distributed AI-driven networks.
As global networks evolve to support high-performance AI workloads, Palo Alto Networks said service providers and enterprises are transforming their infrastructure into AI Factories capable of handling massive data flows required for training and running AI models. The company’s expanded ecosystem is designed to embed AI-powered cybersecurity from the data center to 5G and IoT networks, securing both the physical and digital layers of this infrastructure.
One of the central collaborations involves Nokia, combining Nokia’s AI data center infrastructure with Palo Alto Networks’ AI-driven security platforms. The companies said the joint architecture is intended to help customers build secure, sovereign data centers capable of running high-performance AI workloads while meeting regional data sovereignty requirements. The initiative also aligns with Europe’s push to develop large-scale AI computing facilities, sometimes referred to as AI gigafactories.
Palo Alto Networks also announced several additional partnerships aimed at extending security capabilities across telecom networks, edge infrastructure, and IoT environments.
Through a memorandum of understanding with Malaysian telecom provider U Mobile, Palo Alto Networks plans to integrate next-generation firewalls and AI-powered security services directly into U Mobile’s 4G and 5G infrastructure. The goal is to deliver built-in cybersecurity protections to both consumers and enterprise users through network-embedded Security-as-a-Service capabilities.
Another collaboration involves Aeris, a company focused on IoT connectivity and management. By integrating Aeris’ IoT Watchtower platform with Palo Alto Networks’ Prisma SASE 5G solution, enterprises will be able to monitor and secure large fleets of connected devices through a unified control point. The companies said the integration will help industries such as healthcare, manufacturing, retail, and utilities scale global AI and 5G initiatives while reducing the attack surface created by billions of wireless devices.
The fourth partnership announced involves Celerway, which develops edge networking technology used in mobile and remote environments. The integration combines Celerway’s edge connectivity platform with Palo Alto Networks’ VM-Series next-generation firewalls, enabling remote teams and first responders to maintain enterprise-grade cybersecurity protections while operating outside centralized networks.
Palo Alto Networks said the combined ecosystem is designed to support a future where AI-powered infrastructure spans data centers, telecom networks, edge devices, and billions of IoT endpoints. By embedding security across each layer, the company aims to help organizations manage the scale, speed, and complexity associated with next-generation AI deployments.
KEY QUOTES
“We are establishing the secure foundation for the AI economy through extensive ecosystem collaboration. By seamlessly integrating our AI-powered security services directly from the datacenter into the most vital 5G and IoT networks globally, we are ensuring the AI Factory is secure by design. These partnerships enable us to create a secure digital infrastructure capable of managing the multi-terabit throughput required for training AI models.”
Anand Oswal, Executive Vice President, Palo Alto Networks
“In the race to build the world’s AI Factories, you cannot leave the door open at the infrastructure layer. Nokia and Palo Alto Networks jointly envision comprehensive architectural and operational frameworks that expand security solutions from the network layer to workloads. The validated architecture will allow our customers to build future-proof, sovereign data centers. We aren’t just providing connectivity, we are protecting the physical and digital integrity of industrial digitization at scale.”
Greg Dorai, Senior Vice President And General Manager, IP Networks, Nokia
