AI-RAN Alliance Continues to Grow

The AI-RAN Alliance started as a group of 11 companies one year ago. Today, it is an ecosystem of 75 members across 17 countries. The number of service providers in the mix grew from two to seven.

Alex Jinsung Choi, chairman of the AI-RAN Alliance and principal fellow of SoftBank Corp’s Research Institute of Advanced Technology, noted in a briefing the collective efforts of members are driving innovation at an unprecedented pace, enabling AI-RAN to supercharge 5G and open RAN. He noted the alliance is also laying the foundation for AI-native 6G networks.

Service provider members include T-Mobile, SoftBank, Globe Telecom, KT, and SK Telecom. In addition to the operators, the group now brings together 43 technology companies, 15 academic institutions, six industry associations, and four laboratories. India-headquartered Tech Mahindra is its latest member. Membership is up from close to 50 members in November 2024.

The chairman outlined some of its activity scheduled for the upcoming MWC25 Barcelona event, including ten real-world demonstrations illustrating the transformative impact of AI on wireless networks by improving network efficiency, opening new revenue streams, and enabling novel services. Choi will join executives from founding members Nvidia and Samsung in a panel on AI-driven RAN Automation.

The Alliance was founded at MWC Barcelona 2024 by major players including Ericsson, Nokia, Samsung, Microsoft, SoftBank, and T-Mobile US to conduct research into using AI to improve the efficiency of RAN infrastructure. Reducing power consumption is a top priority. It has three working groups: AI-for-RAN, AI-and-RAN and AI-on-RAN.