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Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun introduces Surge S1 chipset, Mi 5C smartphone and Redmi 4X smartphone during a press conference on February 28, 2017 in Beijing, China

Finland's Nokia and Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi announced an agreement on Wednesday to cross-license patents from each other, which will help both companies develop new products.

The deal will see both companies license so-called standard essential patents patents which are essential to allow products to comply with an industry standard from each other.

Nokia will provide network infrastructure equipment to deliver high capacity, low power requirements that are needed by companies that are processing and delivering lots of data. The two firms will also work together on technologies focused on the data center.

Both companies have agreed to "explore opportunities for further cooperation" in areas such as the internet of things, augmented and virtual reality, and artificial intelligence, according to a press release.

Nokia has been a key player in developing many of the standards used by the mobile industry even today and makes money from licensing the patents it has built up over the years. As such, its patents can be key for companies looking to expand globally in the mobile market without running into legal problems.

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Nokia and Xiaomi sign patent deal and agree to 'explore' areas like VR and AI - CNBC