As global networks pivot to operating high-performance AI Factories, Palo Alto Networks announced an expanded security ecosystem designed to protect this new industrial backbone. At Mobile World Congress 2026, the company unveiled four collaborations with Nokia, U Mobile, Aeris, and Celerway that allow enterprises to enable sovereign AI and secure the autonomous edge without compromising performance.
Anand Oswal, Executive Vice President, Palo Alto Networks: “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.”
Palo Alto Networks and Nokia are positioning their proven data centre security to support the rise of European ‘Gigafactories’. By combining Nokia’s AI Data Centre infrastructure with Palo Alto Networks industry leading AI platforms, customers can scale high-performance AI workloads while achieving their data sovereignty needs.
Greg Dorai, Senior Vice President and General Manager, IP Networks, Nokia: “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 centres. We aren’t just providing connectivity; we are protecting the physical and digital integrity of industrial digitisation at scale.”
In addition, Palo Alto Networks is showcasing three additional partnerships at MWC Barcelona that extend security from the core infrastructure of telcos to deliver foundational resilience through a unified partner ecosystem:
- U Mobile: Real-Time Protection for Consumers and Businesses: Palo Alto Networks has signed an MoU with U Mobile, Malaysia’s newest 5G network provider, to collaborate on a network-embedded Security-as-a-Service (SECaaS) solution to protect its customers from rising cybersecurity threats. By integrating Next-Generation Firewalls and AI-powered security directly into its 4G and 5G infrastructure, U Mobile looks to provide customers with proactive, built-in defense against digital risks.
- Aeris: Unified Visibility for Global IoT Fleets: Mission-critical industries such as healthcare, manufacturing, retail, and utilities will now benefit from the ability to scale AI and 5G initiatives globally while reducing the attack surface of the billions of devices feeding data into the AI Factory. By integrating Aeris IoT Watchtower with Prisma SASE 5G, enterprises can apply data loss prevention and zero-trust policies to millions of wireless devices from a single point of control, closing the traditional security gap at the wireless edge.
- Celerway Communication: Enterprise Security Perimeter Extended to the Distributed Edge: First responders and remote teams will now benefit from data-center-class protection in the field. This integration with Celerway and Palo Alto Networks VM-Series Next-Generation Firewalls (NGFWs) enables mission-critical 5G edge devices to maintain a consistent, rigorous security posture and encrypted data integrity, even when operating in high-mobility or harsh environments far from the central hub.
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