Nokia acquires Rapid technology and R&D unit
Boosting growing network API portfolio
Nokia has announced its acquisition of Rapid’s technology assets, including the world’s largest API hub used by thousands of developers worldwide and its highly skilled research and development unit.
The acquisition – financial details of which were not disclosed – is a strategic move to enhance Nokia’s growing network API portfolio, which aims to lead the expansion of the network API ecosystem. The acquisition aligns with Nokia’s broader efforts to leverage 5G and 4G network capabilities, enabling operators to monetise their network assets more effectively.
Nokia’s push into the network API space is part of its broader strategy to enable telecommunications operators to expose their network functions in a standardised format, facilitating the development of innovative consumer, enterprise, and industrial applications.
The deal will significantly enhance operators’ ability to integrate their networks with developer ecosystems by integrating Rapid’s technology with Nokia’s existing Network as a Code platform. It will also enable more efficient API usage, exposure, and lifecycle management.
Nokia’s Network as Code platform, launched in September 2023, has already gained significant traction. It has 27 global partners, including leading operators such as BT, DISH, Orange, Telefonica, and Telecom Argentina. Integrating Rapid’s technology will enable even deeper collaboration between operators and developers, connecting operators to a large global developer community.
‘Bridge needed’
Raghav Sahgal, President of Cloud and Network Services at Nokia, explained: “Operators need a bridge to connect to thousands of developers to drive enterprise and consumer value creation and monetise their networks.
“Rapid’s technology and talented R&D team, together with Nokia, will allow us to bring a robust API infrastructure platform to accelerate network API-related product development and drive adoption across its broad global developer community.”
Rapid’s technology is renowned for its public API marketplace, which allows developers to design, build, test, and share APIs across their organisations and with external partners. This marketplace is a valuable asset in the growing API economy. It enables developers to list and monetise their APIs while accessing a wide range of APIs for integration into their applications.
Marc Friend, Rapid’s CEO, commented on the acquisition: “We are pleased to join forces with Nokia. The combination of Rapid’s API technology and R&D expertise with Nokia’s scale and network and API domain expertise will enable us to expand the broader API ecosystem.”
This acquisition strengthens Nokia’s product development in the network API domain and accelerates the company’s efforts to enable telecom operators to unlock new revenue streams from their existing network infrastructure.
The synergy between Rapid’s developer-facing technology and Nokia’s deep telecommunications expertise is expected to drive further growth in the API economy, particularly in the context of 5G.
Through this acquisition, Nokia is positioning itself as a key player in the rapidly growing market for network APIs. These APIs are critical for unlocking the full potential of 5G networks and enabling new services and applications. The deal also underscores the increasing importance of APIs in the digital transformation of the telecommunications industry.
As the network API ecosystem continues to evolve, Nokia’s acquisition of Rapid marks an essential step in its strategy to build a more connected, programmable, and monetisable network for operators worldwide.
Featured image: Nokia headquarters in Espoo, Finland. Credit: Nokia
Last Updated on 4 weeks by Arnold Pinto
