There has been significant focus in the industry on Open RAN and use of the Radio Intelligence Controller (RIC) for network optimization. However, AI/ML can offer much more insights and analysis into the network. Mavenir has developed an AI-native framework called Network Intelligence as a Service (NIaaS) that extends the RIC capabilities to provide insights, predictive intelligence and advanced analytics into the network behavior. NIaaS provides correlation, causation, forecasting, recommendation and digital twin services to elevate operational problem solving and decision making capabilities that can be used in conjunction with RIC for network optimization.