Freedom Telecom International (FTI), a subsidiary of Freedom Holding Corp. (FRHC), has signed a Strategic Cooperation Agreement with Nokia. As a first step, Freedom Telecom International and Freedom Lifestyle Group will inaugurate an Innovation Lab at Nokia’s Sunnyvale, California campus in the coming months.
What is the lab’s focus?
The newly established Innovation Lab will serve as a venue to test and evaluate AI architectures, cloud technologies and advanced networking solutions. The initial focus will be on designing next-generation AI data center blueprints, conducting feasibility studies in Kazakhstan and neighboring markets, and leveraging Nokia’s global ecosystem to scale cloud and AI-driven services.
Freedom Lifestyle Group will use the Innovation Lab to test AI-powered consumer services across its e-commerce and health-tech businesses, including chat and voice assistants, AI agents and next-generation SuperApp capabilities.
According to Freedom Lifestyle Group CEO Alexey Lee, the Innovation Lab provides an important platform to advance the company’s existing digital services into their next generation by leveraging AI to deliver more intelligent, personalized and seamlessly integrated experiences across the Freedom ecosystem.
Cooperation with Nokia is an important part of the Freedom ecosystem strategy, which involves close integration across the holding company’s core businesses, including brokerage and banking, as well as telecom and IT.
«This agreement is an important milestone for Nokia and FTI, as our mission includes building international partnerships for Freedom Holding Corp. with telcos and tech companies. The Innovation Lab in Sunnyvale will allow both teams to test ideas and learn together. It marks the beginning of a journey focused on innovation, collaboration, and long-term impact,» said Johannes Hummer, CEO of Freedom Telecom International.
Infrastructure for Central Asia
The partnership with the Finnish tech giant comes as Kazakhstan intensifies efforts to establish itself as a regional hub for artificial intelligence, digital talent and sovereign cloud capabilities — domains that are rapidly becoming global benchmarks for economic competitiveness. Central Asia, historically underpenetrated by hyperscale infrastructure, is now attracting growing attention from global technology providers and international investors seeking new growth corridors.
«Kazakhstan is investing heavily in the future of cloud and AI, and global partnerships play an important role in this journey. Over the past year, we began collaborations with companies like NVIDIA and OpenAI to help accelerate high-performance computing, digital skills, and modern AI infrastructure. Exploring opportunities with Nokia reinforces this direction and helps us evaluate technologies and expertise necessary for technological progress across our global footprint,» Freedom Holding Corp. Founder and CEO Timur Turlov emphasized.
In turn, Mikko Lavanti, senior vice president for the Middle East and Africa at Nokia, said the company looks forward to working closely with Freedom teams as they explore different approaches to cloud and AI initiatives, lifestyle services and more.
By combining Nokia’s technology with Freedom’s ecosystem strategy, global market access and capital markets expertise, the companies are assessing how to unlock scalable digital infrastructure opportunities and support the next phase of digital development worldwide.
Over the past year, Freedom Holding has initiated several major technology partnerships. For example, the company began collaborating with NVIDIA and OpenAI to accelerate the development of high-performance computing and modern AI infrastructure in Kazakhstan.
With a market capitalization of $7.3 billion, Freedom Holding Corp. provides financial, brokerage and digital services to more than 11 million people in over 20 countries. The company’s total assets exceed $10.3 billion.
