Nokia Looks to License Its Brand Again—This Time via Reddit

More than a decade ago, Microsoft acquired Nokia’s mobile business and made Windows Phone-based smartphones under the Nokia brand. The Redmond company eventually sold off the brand to HMD Global, which started making Nokia-branded smartphones running Android. That partnership eventually wound down, but it looks like Nokia is still interested to license its brand to another company.

Nokia wants to license its brand

According to a post on the Nokia sub-reddit, a Nokia Community Manager posted a message indicating the company’s intention to license its brand. The message reads, “If you’re a large scale mobile manufacturer, and you’d like to explore collaboration opportunities, please reach out to us.”

As some of the comments have pointed out, it’s kind of weird that Nokia is reaching out for potential partners via Reddit. While Reddit is a good place to source information and have a discussion, we’re not sure it’s the best place to find a business to buy or license your brand. But hey, maybe Nokia has reached out via other channels, and Reddit is just one of them.

There was an earlier rumor that suggested that Samsung was interested in acquiring Nokia’s network business. However, Nokia shot those rumors down. While Nokia isn’t the consumer tech giant it once was, the company still owns a lot of valuable patents related to mobile and networking.

Nokia’s fall from grace

Nokia used to be the darling in the mobile space. The company essentially dominated the mobile phone scene during the feature phone era. Models like the Nokia 3310 and Nokia 8250 are now considered legends and classics by those who have used them.

However, the company failed to adapt to the smartphone market in a timely way. Nokia continued to push its feature phones and its own operating system. The company also made the odd decision to go with Windows Phone instead of Android. We all know how that turned out.

By the time Nokia pivoted to Android, the market was too saturated with other brands like Samsung. Chinese OEMs also flooded the market with budget phones, rendering Nokia’s phones even more irrelevant. It seems unlikely the company will manage a meaningful comeback. But it also seems that it isn’t willing to let the Nokia brand die just yet.