In addition to the investment fund, Cisco is launching training initiatives to help partners and customers optimize their AI investments. These include the AI Fundamentals for Partners training program and the Cisco Certification in AI program. The company has also made strategic investments in AI startups such as Cohere Inc., Mistral AI, and Scale AI Inc. to advance areas like customer readiness, compute infrastructure, foundational models, AI model development, and AI training.
Key takeaways:
- Cisco Systems Inc. is investing $1 billion in a global fund for AI startups and launching new AI-powered products and services.
- The company has partnered with Nvidia Corp. to deliver the Cisco Nexus HyperFabric AI clusters, a solution for customers to design, deploy, monitor and assure their AI pods and data center workloads.
- Cisco has announced updates to its Webex collaboration tool, including new AI tools for customer service teams and a new Desk Reservation feature for easier scheduling of desk space and use of Cisco Collaboration Devices.
- Alongside its investment in AI startups, Cisco is also investing in training initiatives to help partners and customers optimize their infrastructure for AI workloads and create an 'AI-ready workforce'.