Cisco Launches $1 Billion Fund for AI Startups

Cisco announced it iis launching a $1 billion global investment fund aimed at expanding and developing secure, reliable, and trustworthy AI solutions. This fund is part of Cisco’s strategy to connect and protect the AI era, focusing on partnerships with innovative startups in both software and infrastructure sectors.  To date, nearly $200 million of the $1 billion fund has been committed.

Cisco's recent investments and partnerships in AI include over 20 acquisitions and strategic collaborations, aimed at advancing generative AI and machine learning capabilities. These efforts support Cisco's comprehensive approach to connecting and protecting AI technologies. The company plans to co-innovate with AI startups, maintaining its role as an agnostic provider and platform player in AI, thereby offering diverse options for its global customer base.

The specific investments from the new AI fund include:

• Cohere: With operations in Toronto and San Francisco, Cohere focuses on security-centric frontier large language models (LLMs) and industry-leading Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) capabilities tailored for enterprises.
• Mistral AI: Based in Paris, Mistral AI specializes in generative artificial intelligence, developing new models for business applications with an emphasis on scientific excellence, openness, and responsible technology.
• Scale AI: A U.S.-based company providing a data-centric platform for training and validating AI applications. Cisco participated significantly in Scale AI’s Series F funding round.