COMPANIES · AI CHIPS & NETWORKING

Cisco Systems

Makes networking hardware and software, including switches and routers used to connect servers inside data centers.

EnablerAI chips & networking
What it does

Makes networking hardware and software, including switches and routers used to connect servers inside data centers.

Why it matters

AI data centers depend on extremely high-bandwidth internal networking, and Cisco has repositioned its switching portfolio around NVIDIA's AI networking standards.

How it makes money

Sells networking hardware, software and services to enterprises, service providers and data-center operators.

Geography

United States

AI stack position

AI chips and networking. The companies designing the processors, accelerators and networking equipment that do the actual computing behind AI, including GPUs like NVIDIA's, and the high-speed connections that link thousands of them together.

Same-layer peers

Same-layer peers share an editorial stack classification; that alone does not establish direct competition.

Connections (8)

Every connection below is tied to a readable source, date, classification and statement of its limits. A company source establishes what that company stated; it does not necessarily provide independent confirmation.

Current relationships (6)

Cisco Systems partnering on rack-scale Secure AI Factory systems with NVIDIA Supermicro
Partners withCurrent
Cisco expanded its NVIDIA-based Secure AI Factory offering to include Supermicro as a rack-scale systems partner, combining Cisco networking with Supermicro's liquid-cooled AI servers.

Source: 2026-08-25 · reviewed 2026-09-20

Evidence: Primary-source statement · Newly announced, current three-way go-to-market partnership

Limits: Confirms a joint go-to-market and technical partnership; does not disclose revenue, deployment volumes, or customer commitments.

Cisco Expands Secure AI Factory with NVIDIA for the Rack-Scale Era ↗
Cisco Systems invested in Starcloud
Invested inCurrent
Cisco Investments was named as a new investor in Starcloud's $250 million Series A extension announced in August 2026.

Source: 2026-08-21 · reviewed 2026-09-24

Evidence: Primary-source statement · Reported operating

Limits: Establishes participation in a funding round by Cisco's investment arm. It does not establish the size of the stake, any board seat, or any commercial or product relationship between Cisco and Starcloud.

Starcloud Raises $250 Million at $2.3 Billion Valuation to Scale AI with Orbital Data Centers ↗
Equinix partners with Cisco Systems
Partners withCurrent
Equinix is deploying Cisco's 'Secure AI Factory with NVIDIA' architecture across its global data center footprint, providing the interconnection density, specialized power and advanced cooling the solution requires, announced June 16, 2026.

Source: 2026-06-16 · reviewed 2026-09-22

Evidence: Primary-source statement · Reported operating

Limits: Does not establish number or location of deployed sites, financial terms, or exclusivity; NVIDIA supplied only reference architectures to the collaboration.

Equinix Collaborates with Cisco and NVIDIA to Deploy Secure AI Factories Across Global Data Center Footprint ↗
Cisco Systems invested in SpaceXAI (formerly xAI)
Invested inCurrent
xAI named Cisco Investments as a strategic investor in its $20 billion Series E announced on January 6, 2026.

Source: 2026-01-06 · reviewed 2026-09-24

Evidence: Primary-source statement · Reported operating

Limits: No amount, ownership percentage or security type is disclosed. The announcement does not establish that Cisco supplies networking equipment to SpaceXAI, only that its venture arm took part in the round.

Series E ↗
Cisco Systems investing in CoreWeave at a roughly $23 billion valuation CoreWeave
Invested inCurrent
Cisco Investments made an equity investment in CoreWeave, reported at a roughly $23 billion valuation, and lists CoreWeave in its published investment portfolio.

Source: 2024-10-03 · reviewed 2026-09-20

Evidence: Primary-source statement · Completed minority investment, made before CoreWeave's 2025 IPO

Limits: Confirms Cisco Investments holds a stake in CoreWeave; the $23 billion valuation figure comes from press reporting on the round rather than a joint statement, and ownership percentage is not disclosed.

Coreweave | Cisco Investments ↗
Cisco Systems builds AI networking systems with NVIDIA
Partners withCurrent
Cisco offers data-center switches and reference architectures built around NVIDIA's Spectrum-X Ethernet networking platform for AI clusters.

Source: Source undated · reviewed 2026-09-17

Evidence: Primary-source statement · Product documented

Limits: Product/solution documentation; does not establish purchase volume, exclusivity or which customers have deployed it.

Cisco AI networking for data center with NVIDIA Spectrum-X ↗

Dated or announced (2)

Cisco Systems joined the Stargate UAE consortium with OpenAI
Partners withDated / announced
Cisco said it joined the Stargate UAE consortium with G42, OpenAI, Oracle, NVIDIA and SoftBank Group, providing networking, security and observability for a 1 GW Abu Dhabi campus with an initial 200 MW targeted for 2026.

Source: 2025-05-22 · reviewed 2026-09-24

Evidence: Primary-source statement · Announced; not confirmed operating

Limits: A consortium announcement with a capacity target. It does not establish that any Cisco equipment has been ordered or installed, the contract value, or that the 200 MW first phase was delivered.

Cisco Joins Stargate UAE Initiative ↗
Cisco Systems invested in Groq
Invested inDated / announced
Groq's own August 5, 2024 announcement of its $640 million Series D round names Cisco Investments among the participating investors, led by BlackRock Private Equity Partners.

Source: 2024-08-05 · reviewed 2026-09-22

Evidence: Primary-source statement · Announced

Limits: Does not disclose Cisco's individual investment amount; a separate law-firm summary describes Cisco Investments as also participating in Groq's later Series E.

Groq Raises $640M to Meet Soaring Demand for Fast AI Inference ↗
Evidence for this profile

Cisco AI networking for data centers with NVIDIA Spectrum-X ↗
Reviewed

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Inclusion in this database is not an endorsement of a company or its securities. Nothing here is a recommendation to buy or sell anything, and none of it is individualized investment advice. See the disclosures. Data: AI Map v3.22, released .