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Is Aramco Digital planning a major investment in open RAN innovator Mavenir?

Is Aramco Digital planning a major investment in open RAN innovator Mavenir?

Aramco Digital, the technology subsidiary of Saudi petroleum and natural gas company Aramco, is widely reported to be in talks to invest about US$1 billion in telecommunications software maker Mavenir.

While most news outlets note that a transaction is not guaranteed, it seems a deal is likely to be signed before the end of the year. The deal would value Mavenir at about US$3 billion.

As Reuters points out, this deal would be Aramco Digital’s first major transaction in the telecommunications industry as part of Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 plan, whose aim is to diversify the economy away from oil and gas.

As regular readers will know, Mavenir is a major name in open RAN. Indeed, back in February it announced that it was in the advanced commercial phase of an open RAN network pilot deployment for Indian operator Vodafone Idea (Vi) that will support Vi’s planned 5G rollout.

Supporting the chances of the Saudi deal getting through any US national security review is a US government agreement with the Saudis in 2022 to cooperate on the technology to build 5G and 6G networks in Saudi Arabia.

Any cash injection would certainly be welcome to Mavenir as it tries to serve a growing 5G market and prepares for 6G, but Aramco Digital’s plans would also be given a boost.

Aramco Digital is apparently in talks to separately invest US$200 million in a joint venture with Mavenir for technology development in the region. It also has plans to build Saudi Arabia's first open RAN development centre in partnership with semiconductor manufacturing giant Intel, and, as we reported at the time, recently received a license to provide wireless services in Saudi Arabia.



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