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The ‘Agentic Telco’ Crystallizes at MWC 2026 as Operators Build Their Own AI Models: AI & Automation Insights, March 2026

The 'Agentic Telco' Crystallizes at MWC 2026 as Operators Build Their Own AI Models: AI & Automation Insights, March 2026
March 2026's roundup: GSMA, Google Cloud, Huawei, and AWS all converge on an "agentic telco" framing at MWC Barcelona, SoftBank and SK Telecom build proprietary telecom-specific AI models and infrastructure, and physical AI reaches airports, drones, and network edge sites — with AI-RAN and connectivity infrastructure covered separately in our companion Advanced Connectivity Insights, March 2026.

AT&T, Cisco and NVIDIA Deliver Network-Driven Edge AI

AT&T, Cisco and NVIDIA Deliver Network-Driven Edge AI
AT&T’s new collaboration with Cisco and NVIDIA signals a decisive shift from cloud-centric AI to network-driven edge intelligence for enterprise operations. Enterprises want real-time decisioning without shipping sensitive data to distant clouds, and operators need a scalable way to deliver it. By combining AT&T’s dedicated IoT core with Cisco’s mobility services platform and NVIDIA-powered AI infrastructure, the trio is packaging deterministic connectivity, near-device inference, and policy enforcement into a single, operator-grade platform. The promise: lower latency, tighter data control, and a path to production for AI at industrial scale.

SoftBank Record Revenue Powered by 5G and AI

SoftBank Record Revenue Powered by 5G and AI
SoftBank Corp. delivered its strongest nine-month performance on record and lifted full-year guidance, underscoring a strategic shift from connectivity-only services to network-enabled platforms in AI, cloud, and edge. Through the first nine months of fiscal 2025 (April–December 2025), SoftBank reported revenue of ¥5.2 trillion, up 8% year over year, and operating income of ¥884 billion, also up 8%, with net income attributable to owners rising 11% to ¥485.5 billion. Management raised full-year targets to ¥6.95 trillion in revenue, ¥1.02 trillion in operating profit, and ¥543 billion in net income, signaling confidence heading into the March 31, 2026 year end.

Nvidia OpenAI investment: Huang rejects $100B stall

Nvidia OpenAI investment: Huang rejects $100B stall
Nvidia’s CEO is publicly reaffirming confidence in OpenAI even as reports suggest the companies may narrow the scope of an ambitious, nonbinding plan announced last fall. During a visit to Taipei, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang dismissed talk of friction with OpenAI and said Nvidia will participate in OpenAI’s next funding round. Recent reporting suggested Nvidia has emphasized the nonbinding nature of its plan to invest up to $100 billion and build roughly 10 GW of compute for OpenAI, and that both parties are re-examining scope and terms.

Telecom and Tech M&A Tracker 2025

Telecom and Tech M&A Tracker
2025 has seen major telecom and tech M&A activity, including billion-dollar deals in fiber, AI, cloud, and cybersecurity. This monthly tracker details key acquisitions, like AT&T buying Lumen’s fiber assets and Google’s $32B move for Wiz, highlighting how consolidation is shaping the competitive landscape.

SoftBank–DigitalBridge: AI Data Center Power Advantage

SoftBank–DigitalBridge: AI Data Center Power Advantage
A potential take‑private of DigitalBridge by SoftBank would concentrate capital, power, and build capability at the precise chokepoints of the AI and telecom stack. The center of gravity in AI infrastructure has moved from buildings and GPUs to grid access, entitlements, and construction lead time. DigitalBridge controls rights to roughly 21 GW of power across its global portfolio—effectively a banked inventory of megawatts that can be turned into contracted capacity faster than new entrants can clear interconnection queues or procure transformers. This transaction is fundamentally about compressing multi‑year build timelines for AI factories into quarters.

SoftBank Sells Nvidia Stake to Fund AI Infrastructure Bets

SoftBank Sells Nvidia Stake to Fund AI Infrastructure Bets
SoftBank has exited Nvidia and is redirecting billions into AI platforms and infrastructure, signaling where it believes the next phase of value will concentrate. SoftBank sold its remaining 32.1 million Nvidia shares in October for approximately $5.83 billion, and also disclosed a separate $9.17 billion sale of T-Mobile US shares as part of a broader reallocation into artificial intelligence. The proceeds are earmarked for a significant expansion of SoftBank’s AI portfolio, including a major investment in OpenAI and potential participation in “Stargate,” a next-generation AI data center initiative co-developed by OpenAI and Oracle. Despite exiting Nvidia’s equity, SoftBank retains about 90% ownership of Arm.

SK Telecom executive cuts: 30% reduction

SK Telecom executive cuts: 30% reduction
Reports indicate SK Group will reduce executive ranks by up to 30%, a move that would reshape decision-making across affiliates including SK Telecom (SKT). For SKT, which sits at the nexus of the group’s AI, cloud, and connectivity ambitions, executive trims would concentrate authority and compress approval chains at a sensitive time for 5G monetization and AI platform bets. Executive consolidation at a Tier-1 operator tends to reset priorities, procurement rhythms, and partner engagement models.

SoftBank-OpenAI JV launches localized enterprise AI in Japan

SoftBank-OpenAI JV launches localized enterprise AI in Japan
SoftBank and OpenAI have formed SB OAI Japan, a jointly owned entity that will commercialize “Crystal intelligence,” a bundled enterprise AI offering focused on management and operations in Japan. The venture will combine OpenAI’s enterprise-grade models and tooling with localization, integration, and support led by SoftBank in-market. Crystal intelligence is positioned as a turnkey solution that pairs model access with domain-specific implementation, governance, and support. SoftBank plans to deploy the solution across its own group companies, validate outcomes in production, and recycle those learnings back into SB OAI Japan’s offerings.

SoftBank and NVIDIA AI-RAN: 16-Layer MU-MIMO on GPUs

SoftBank AI-RAN Realizes - Software-only Massive MIMO on GPU
SoftBank and NVIDIA have validated a fully software-defined, GPU-accelerated AI-RAN that delivers 16-layer massive MU-MIMO outdoors—an inflection point for vRAN performance, Open RAN scalability, and AI-native RAN design. SoftBank’s AI-RAN product, AITRAS, executed the entire 5G physical layer on NVIDIA GPUs at the Distributed Unit and demonstrated stable 16-layer multi-user MIMO downlink in an outdoor trial at NVIDIA’s Santa Clara campus. The system connected to O-RAN-compliant radios via Split 7.2x and achieved roughly three times the spectral efficiency and throughput of a conventional 4-layer setup while maintaining per-user rates under high load. The field results show that software-only massive MIMO on GPUs can meet macro-radio conditions without bespoke silicon.
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