Microsoft acquired Cloud based 5G services firm, Affirmed Networks

Microsoft has now revealed that it had signed an agreement to acquire Network Function Virtualization vendor Affirmed Networks to integrate 5G networks with its cloud offerings.

The financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

Founded in 2010, Affirmed Networks offers fully virtualized, cloud-native mobile network solutions. These solutions allow operators to simplify network operations, reduce costs and rapidly create and launch new revenue-generating services. The company has raised $155 Million to date in six funding rounds, according to CrunchBase.

The acquisition deal will help Microsoft to deliver some of the new opportunities for a global 5G ecosystem. The latest 5G technology is pivotal in enabling use-cases such as autonomous vehicles, smart cities and virtual reality etc.

Executive Opinion

Yousef Khalidi, Corporate Vice President of Azure Networking, said, "We look forward to building on the great work by Affirmed Networks with its leadership in virtualized mobile networks. Bringing this technology and team of experts into Microsoft allows us to extend our cloud offering to operators everywhere as they increasingly look to run their networks in a hybrid environment. We're excited about our future together where carriers will be able to better leverage Microsoft's cloud to improve overall profitability and create new revenue streams."

Microsoft and Affirmed Network acquisition deal

By acquiring the Affirmed technology along with experts team, Microsoft intends to expand its cloud offering to telecommunication operators as they look to run their networks in a hybrid environment, notes the announcement.

Microsoft has been working with various telecom organizations on integrating edge computing capabilities with the Azure Cloud and 5G network services. AT&T is one of the biggest partners of Microsoft in the 5G services.

Affirmed Network sells its 5G solutions to the different service providers that are interested in selling 5G services like the IoT, connected cars, mobile broadband, and more.