Palo Alto expands AI factory security partnerships

Author: Joe Peck

Palo Alto Networks, a US provider of cybersecurity platforms including firewalls and cloud security services, has announced an expanded security ecosystem aimed at protecting AI-focused data centre and telecoms infrastructure, unveiling new partnerships at Mobile World Congress 2026.

The company has confirmed collaborations with Nokia, U Mobile, Aeris, and Celerway. The agreements are intended to support high-performance AI infrastructure, 5G networks, and distributed edge environments.

Palo Alto Networks says the partnerships are designed to integrate AI-driven security controls across data centres, telecom networks, and IoT deployments, supporting data sovereignty requirements and multi-terabit throughput for AI model training.

Telco and edge security integrations

With Nokia, the companies are aligning data centre security with AI infrastructure deployments, including support for large-scale European facilities. The collaboration focuses on integrating security from network layers through to workloads.

Greg Dorai, Senior Vice President and General Manager, IP Networks at Nokia, comments, “In the race to build the world’s AI factories, you cannot leave the door open at the infrastructure layer.

“Nokia and Palo Alto Networks jointly envision comprehensive architectural and operational frameworks that expand security solutions from the network layer to workloads. The validated architecture will allow our customers to build future-proof, sovereign data centres.”

Palo Alto Networks has also signed a memorandum of understanding with U Mobile to develop a network-embedded Security-as-a-Service platform within its 4G and 5G infrastructure.

Integration with Aeris links Aeris IoT Watchtower and Prisma SASE 5G to apply data loss prevention and zero-trust policies across large IoT device estates.

Meanwhile, collaboration with Celerway incorporates VM-Series Next-Generation Firewalls into 5G edge devices, extending enterprise-grade security controls to remote and mobile deployments.

Anand Oswal, Executive Vice President at Palo Alto Networks, says, “We are establishing the secure foundation for the AI economy through extensive ecosystem collaboration.

“By seamlessly integrating our AI-powered security services directly from the data centre into the most vital 5G and IoT networks globally, we are ensuring the AI factory is secure by design.

“These partnerships enable us to create a secure digital infrastructure capable of managing the multi-terabit throughput required for training AI models.”

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