Norwegian telecom operator Telenor has built the country’s first “AI factory”, powered by Nvidia H100 Tensor Core GPUs and Nvidia AI Enterprise software platform. Opened in November 2024, Nvidia said the facility enables organisations to process sensitive data securely in Norway while prioritising sustainability.
Speaking on Nvidia’s AI podcast, Telenor’s Chief Innovation Officer and Head of the AI Factory Kaaren Hilsen, said the AI Factory went from concept to reality in under a year and now serves customers across a number of sectors, including logistics and public services. It delivers “sustainable and secure sovereign AI — where nations own the production of their own intelligence,” Hilsen added.
AI Factory’s First Customer
As part of the AI-powered transformation initiative across various industries, Telenor announced an initial 100 million NOK investment in February last year to build an AI factory using Nvidia’s AI computing platform. Hive Autonomy, a Norwegian company specialising in autonomous technology, became the first customer of the AI factory, Telenor announced in November 2024.
“Telenor’s AI factory aims to enhance AI adoption for both internal operations and external customers, as well as provide local AI computing capabilities to the Nordic region,” the telco said at the time of the announcement.
While the telco now has external customers, including Hive Autonomy and Capgemini (which is developing voice-to-voice translation), Hilsen said the AI Factory was initially built to support Telenor’s own AI needs.
Telenor is also planning to build a data center in Oslo that will run on renewable energy and repurpose excess heat for district heating in nearby residential buildings, according to the blog post. Telenor has partnered with power company Huisman and a renewable energy investor called HitecVision to build the “super modern” data center.
Sovereign AI infrastructure helps nations manage sensitive data and advance sustainability goals.
Telenor Launches Open Lab
In another development, Telenor announced the launch of Open Lab, a testbed designed to facilitate open innovation, on March 3, 2025. Telenor’s Open Lab will allow Telenor, its customers, and partners to test and validate new technologies in controlled environments, initially focusing on network technology, with plans to expand into other areas such as AI.
The initial phase of the Open Lab leverages advanced 5G capabilities, including network slicing, O-RAN, mobile private networks, and local breakout edge solutions.
Telenor said while the heart of the platform located at Fornebu, specialised testing facilities are being established both in Gothenburg and on Svalbard. “The Gothenburg testing facility at Lindholmen Science Park will offer facilities for cutting-edge use cases, such as AI-driven predictive maintenance and warning systems, real-time monitoring, and enhanced worker safety solutions,” Telenor said.
Telenor Norway announced on February 7 the nationwide rollout of its call protection service, Nummervarsel. The new service, powered by Hiya’s Adaptive AI, will be available to nearly all business customers and consumers.
The service will automatically flag suspicious, fraudulent, or spam calls in real time, enabling users to make informed decisions before answering. Integrated into Telenor’s service, Nummervarsel requires no downloads or additional apps, providing effortless protection for customers.
According to Hiya’s Q3 2024 Global Call Threat Report, nearly 10 billion calls were flagged as suspected spam in the third quarter of 2024 alone, translating to 105 million unwanted calls daily.
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