SoftBank Corp. and Ericsson forge strategic partnership
to drive innovation in AI, Cloud,
XR, and 6G technologies towards 2030

SoftBank Corp. (“SoftBank”) and Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) have entered a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish a strategic partnership towards 2030. This collaboration focuses on evaluating, promoting, and co-creating “NextWave Tech”, which encompasses advancing technologies to the next stage, including AI, Cloud RAN (Radio Access Network), XR (Extended Reality), and 6G. The partnership seeks to explore new use cases and drive technological advancements that will shape the future of cellular networks and its architectures.

As the industry presents exciting opportunities with NextWave Tech, SoftBank and Ericsson are committed to actively investing in bringing these technologies to life. These efforts promise future growth and cost-efficiency, helping the whole industry seize new opportunities. To achieve this, both companies will jointly work on blueprinting the roadmaps toward future networks, ensuring that all collaborative efforts align with their long-term vision and pave the way for industry leadership.

SoftBank and Ericsson will further deepen and broaden their collaboration in the development of technologies and businesses across the following key areas, including but not limited to:

• Evaluating commercial readiness for Cloud RAN deployment with SMO / rApps, in-cluding integration of AI technology
• Establishing efficient and effective network design strategies for emerging use cases such as XR
• Exploring new ways of using radio wave by integrating sensing and communication
• Promoting the effective use of centimeter Wave technologies to position Japan as a leader in 6G

Jawad Manssour, President and Representative Director, Ericsson Japan says: “This new collaboration with SoftBank marks a significant step forward in realizing the full potential of AI-powered connectivity technologies. By combining our expertise in RAN and AI, we are poised to drive innovation and shape SoftBank's future of mobile networks, empowering their technology leadership through 2030.”

Hideyuki Tsukuda, Executive Vice President and CTO at SoftBank Corp., says: “Our new partnership with Ericsson allows us to explore cutting-edge solutions that will redefine network capabilities and customer experience. Our joint efforts in areas such as 6G and AI will not only enhance the performance of our network, but also pave the way for new business opportunities and technological breakthroughs.”

Through this initiative, SoftBank and Ericsson are committed to addressing the diverse and evolving needs of consumers and enterprises for high-performing, secure and reliable connectivity. By leveraging AI and cloud-based networks, they aim to drive significant advances in connectivity that will play a critical role in the digital transformation of society.

• SoftBank, the SoftBank name and logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of SoftBank Group Corp. in Japan and other countries.
• Other company, product and service names in this press release are registered trademarks or trademarks of the respective companies.