At Cisco Live, Cisco introduced a $1 billion AI investment fund aimed at enhancing the startup ecosystem and fostering the development of secure, reliable AI solutions. Through this initiative, Cisco is strategically investing in companies like Cohere, Mistral AI, and Scale AI to boost AI readiness and align with Cisco's AI innovation strategy. To date, nearly $200 million of the fund has already been allocated.
"For more than 30 years, Cisco Investments has invested and partnered with hundreds of companies to drive innovation both within Cisco's core markets and in new strategic areas. Our recent investments in generative AI companies align perfectly with this long-standing strategy. At Cisco, we believe we are well positioned to be the best strategic partner for our customers in the AI era as they look to build, secure, and power AI. In addition to building essential technology to connect, secure and advance AI, Cisco is committed to investing in the broader AI ecosystem to more effectively meet our customers' needs," said Mark Patterson, Chief Strategy Officer, Cisco.
In recent years, Cisco has made over 20 AI-focused acquisitions and investments, enhancing its generative AI and machine learning capabilities and integrating AI across its portfolio. These strategic investments and partnerships with AI platforms in software and infrastructure support Cisco's comprehensive strategy to connect and safeguard the AI era. Additionally, Cisco plans to collaborate with AI companies on product innovations, maintaining its role as an agnostic provider and platform player in AI, thus offering diverse options and extensive coverage for its global customer base.
At the end of last year, Cisco also unveiled a range of new features, improvements, and tools for its broad partner network to deliver increased business value across the customer lifecycle.
Investments in the AI fund include
Cohere: With headquarters in Toronto and San Francisco, Cohere specializes in security-focused frontier large language models (LLMs) and industry-leading Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) capabilities designed for enterprise needs.
Mistral AI: Based in Paris, Mistral AI develops innovative generative AI models for businesses, combining scientific excellence with an open approach and a responsible vision of technology.
Scale AI: Located in the U.S., Scale AI offers a data-centric, end-to-end platform for training and validating AI applications. Cisco recently participated in Scale AI's Series F funding round as the largest strategic investor.
Cisco has a strong legacy of innovation through R&D, investments, M&A, and strategic partnerships, employing a multifaceted strategy of building, buying, partnering, investing, and co-developing. This announcement builds on Cisco's momentum in AI investments and product innovations, reinforcing its position to help enterprises globally harness the power of secure, reliable, and trustworthy AI.
Not too long ago, Cisco revealed solutions tailored to the evolving needs of today's hybrid workforce.
