Booz Allen Hamilton has announced that its corporate venture capital arm, Booz Allen Ventures, has made a minority investment in O-RAN Development Company (ODC), a U.S.-based technology company that develops AI-native Open RAN (O-RAN) solutions for 5G and future 6G networks. The investment part of ODC’s Series A funding round has been intended to support the development of NextG wireless technologies that are intended for use in 6G infrastructure aligned with stated U.S. initiatives.
This investment has supported the development of communications capabilities. It has also supported the development of Artificial Intelligence Radio Access Network (AI-RAN) technologies that embed AI directly into the network for operational use while supporting today’s 5G infrastructure and informing development toward 6G. Leveraging software-defined wireless networks, edge computing, and AI-enabled technologies, data has been processed closer to where operations occur, which may support lower-latency and locally processed network operations at the edge.
“At Booz Allen, we’re advancing AI-native wireless networks that strengthen resilience and bring AI to the edge,” said Chris Christou, senior vice president and 5G/NextG lead at Booz Allen. “By leveraging our deep engineering and mission expertise with ODC’s innovative technology, we’re helping bring next-generation wireless capabilities to environments where speed, adaptability, and reliability matter most.”
This work builds on Booz Allen’s broader NextG industry collaborations through initiatives such as the AI Wireless Innovation Network (AI-WIN), which has focused on AI-native wireless technologies and supports their movement toward operational environments. Through AI-WIN, Booz Allen and ODC have been collaborating, and ODC has also been a co-investor in this round, to research and evaluate NextG capabilities that integrate AI directly into wireless network architectures.
“ODC’s platform can transform the network from a communication pipe into a distributed compute grid, which is the essential AI processing engine for the world’s digital and physical infrastructure,” said Dr. Shaygan Kheradpir, chairman of ODC. “With the support of Booz Allen and other industry-leading partners, we are now focused on ramping our engagements and transforming today’s cell sites into high-performance compute hubs capable of orchestrating everything from autonomous agentic AI and real-time generative inference to the physical AI applications that secure and define national infrastructure resilience.”
Initial efforts have focused on defense applications, where Booz Allen has provided prior experience to help integrate emerging commercial technologies into real-world environments. The collaboration has been intended to expand beyond defense to support opportunities across allied international markets, enterprise environments, and mobile network operators.
“The United States must continue to lead in AI and advanced communications,” said Travis Bales, Director of Booz Allen Ventures. “Through this investment, Booz Allen is helping accelerate the technologies and partnerships needed to support government missions and sustain America’s technological advantage.”
Launched in 2022, Booz Allen Ventures has made venture capital investments in early-stage startups focused on AI, defense tech, deep tech, cybersecurity, space, and reindustrialization. The fund, which tripled in size last year to $300 million, has continued its investments across portfolio companies to date.