The 6th generation of wireless mobile networks is emerging as a paradigm shifting successor to unifying the experience across the physical, digital, and human worlds, pushing boundaries on performance in capacity, throughput, latency, scalability, flexibility, and reliability, while prominently addressing new major factors, including sustainability, security and privacy, as well as digital inclusion. Many research institutions and initiatives worldwide have started investigations to make 6G a reality by approximately 2030. In Germany, federal funding from the German Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) supports a large-scale 6G initiative, with its lighthouse project, called 6G-ANNA. The core aim of this project is to develop the key aspects of a holistic, sustainable, secure, and resilient 6G system design that will simplify and improve the interaction between humans, digital assets, and the physical environment. This paper shares the vision of the project’s main technical working areas and advances, spanning topics from radio access, integration of multiple networks, as well as automation and simplification in networking to new applications and testbed scenarios, including real-time digital twins and extended reality. The industrial impact and relevance of standardization makes 6G-ANNA uniquely positioned to lead and realize the vision of next-generation wireless mobile network technologies, systems, and applications.

This paper presents a comprehensive vision of the 6G core network to meet the unprecedented requirements of low latency, extreme data rates, and massive connectivity. A key enabler of this vision is the integration of AI-native and datadriven design paradigms, which empower the 6G network with intelligent automation, autonomous decision making, and real-time optimization. Furthermore, the proposed architecture emphasizes modularity, resiliency, and security as foundational design principles. Through the described architectural principles, intelligent capabilities, and data-driven design, this work lays the groundwork for a future-proof 6G core that is agile, intelligent, and resilient.