Cisco Launches $1B Global AI Investment Fund for Startup Ecosystem
These strategic investments and partnerships with AI platforms across software and infrastructure build upon Cisco’s holistic strategy to connect and protect the AI era.
Cisco Investments, the global corporate venture investment arm of tech company Cisco, has launched a $1 billion AI investment fund to bolster the startup ecosystem and expand the development of secure AI solutions.
As part of the new AI fund, Cisco is making strategic investments in Cohere, Mistral AI and Scale AI among others to advance customers’ AI readiness and complement Cisco’s AI innovation strategy.
In a statement issued on June 4, the company says it has already committed nearly $200 million of the $1 billion investment fund to date. According to Cisco, AI is reshaping every industry and the world at an unprecedented pace, putting greater emphasis on how businesses globally interact and rely on technology.
Over the past several years, Cisco says it has made over 20 AI-focused acquisitions and investments, furthering GenAI and Machine Learning capabilities and integration of AI across the Cisco portfolio.
These strategic investments and partnerships with AI platforms across software and infrastructure build upon Cisco’s holistic strategy to connect and protect the AI era.
In addition to these investments, Cisco will also be working with AI companies on product collaborations that allow Cisco to co-innovate, while also being an agnostic provider and platform player in AI, offering options and coverage for Cisco’s global customer base.
The committed investments in the new AI fund include:
Cohere: Headquartered in Toronto and San Francisco, Cohere provides security-focused frontier large language models (LLMs) and Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) capabilities tailored to meet the needs of enterprises.
Mistral AI: Mistral AI is a global company headquartered in Paris specializing in generative artificial intelligence. The company develops new models of generative artificial intelligence for businesses, combining scientific excellence, an open approach and a responsible vision of technology.
Scale AI: Based in the U.S., Scale AI provides a data-centric, end-to-end platform providing training and validation for AI applications. Cisco recently participated in Scale AI’s Series F funding as the round’s largest strategic investor.
“The establishment of our $1 billion AI investment fund is a testament to our commitment to the transformative power of artificial intelligence and its potential to redefine industries globally,” said Derek Idemoto, SVP, Corporate Development and Cisco Investments. “This fund represents our unwavering commitment to AI and innovation, and to the entrepreneurs and visionaries who are defining the next wave of technology.”
Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) is a worldwide technology company that offers connectivity solutions to enterprises.
Courtesy: Cisco
