Palo Alto expands AI Factory security ties

Palo Alto Networks has announced an expanded security ecosystem aimed at protecting emerging high-performance AI Factories, unveiling multiple global partnerships at Mobile World Congress 2026 in Barcelona. The company describes the initiative as establishing a secure foundation for the AI economy by securing both the physical and digital layers of AI infrastructure.

The new ecosystem is designed to allow enterprises to scale for sovereign AI requirements, secure autonomous edge environments and support multi-terabit throughput needed for training AI models. Palo Alto Networks is integrating its AI-powered security services directly from data centers into key 5G and IoT networks to make AI infrastructure “secure by design.”

Anand Oswal, Executive Vice President at Palo Alto Networks, said the collaborations aim to create a secure digital infrastructure capable of managing the data intensity of AI workloads. The company positions itself as a global AI cybersecurity leader, with platforms spanning network, cloud, security operations, AI and identity.

A central element of the announcement is a collaboration between Palo Alto Networks and Nokia (NOK) to support the growth of European AI “Gigafactories.” The partners plan to combine Nokia’s AI data center infrastructure with Palo Alto Networks’ AI platforms to help customers scale high-performance AI workloads while meeting data sovereignty requirements.

Nokia and Palo Alto Networks jointly envision architectural and operational frameworks that expand security from the network layer up to workloads. According to Nokia executive Greg Dorai, the validated architecture is intended to help customers build future-proof, sovereign data centers that protect the physical and digital integrity of industrial digitization at scale.

Beyond data centers, Palo Alto Networks is extending its security reach across telecom and IoT environments through new collaborations with U Mobile, Aeris and Celerway. These agreements focus on embedding security into networks and devices to reduce exposure at the 5G and IoT edge.

In Malaysia, Palo Alto Networks has signed a memorandum of understanding with U Mobile, the country’s newest 5G network provider. The parties plan to develop a network-embedded Security-as-a-Service offering to protect U Mobile’s customers from rising cybersecurity threats.

The initiative involves integrating Palo Alto Networks’ Next-Generation Firewalls and AI-powered security directly into U Mobile’s 4G and 5G infrastructure. The goal is to provide proactive, built-in defense for both consumer and business users, rather than relying solely on over-the-top security tools.

Palo Alto Networks is also working with Aeris to address security for global IoT deployments in industries such as healthcare, manufacturing, retail and utilities. The collaboration integrates Aeris IoT Watchtower with Palo Alto Networks’ Prisma SASE 5G platform.

This setup is intended to give enterprises unified visibility across millions of wireless devices and to apply data loss prevention and zero-trust policies from a single control point. The companies say the approach is aimed at closing traditional security gaps at the wireless edge as AI and 5G initiatives scale.

A further partnership with Celerway focuses on extending enterprise security perimeters to highly distributed and mobile environments. The integration links Celerway’s 5G edge capabilities with Palo Alto Networks VM-Series Next-Generation Firewalls.

According to the companies, first responders and remote teams can benefit from data-center-class protection in the field, maintaining consistent security policies and encrypted data integrity even in harsh or high-mobility conditions far from central hubs.

The expanded ecosystem is being presented as part of Palo Alto Networks’ broader effort to secure AI Factories and autonomous edge deployments around the world. The company is showcasing these collaborations at Mobile World Congress 2026 as examples of a unified partner approach that spans telco cores, data centers and edge devices.

Despite the strategic emphasis on AI and 5G security, previous AI-related announcements from Palo Alto Networks have been followed by muted to negative short-term stock reactions, with an average 24-hour move of minus 1.8%, according to historical observations cited in one report. At the last close referenced, Palo Alto Networks shares traded at $148.92.