{"version":1,"type":"story","url":"https://digestai.news/story/cisco-signs-over-10bn-ai-infrastructure-deals-amid-competition-from-nv","json":"https://digestai.news/story/cisco-signs-over-10bn-ai-infrastructure-deals-amid-competition-from-nv.json","markdown":"https://digestai.news/story/cisco-signs-over-10bn-ai-infrastructure-deals-amid-competition-from-nv.md","slug":"cisco-signs-over-10bn-ai-infrastructure-deals-amid-competition-from-nv","headline":"Cisco signs over $10bn AI infrastructure deals amid competition from Nvidia","summary":"Cisco says it has signed AI‑infrastructure contracts worth more than $10bn this fiscal year with hyperscalers and emerging \"neocloud\" providers. President and chief product officer Jeetu Patel explained that the company’s advantage lies in its vertically integrated stack – it designs its own silicon, photonics, optics and software, positioning itself like \"Apple for infrastructure.\" He noted that rivals such as Nvidia are moving into optical switches, creating a competitive dynamic where partners can also become competitors.\n\nPatel highlighted strong financial momentum, with bookings up 35% and revenue up 18% in the last quarter, and an $8bn R&D budget for the year. Cisco aims to have one product fully written by AI now and plans for six more by year‑end, targeting 70% of its software portfolio AI‑generated by next year and 100% in two years. He warned that while the AI surge may feel like a bubble, it also represents a secular shift, and the risk of moving too slowly outweighs the risk of over‑capacity.","keyPoints":["Cisco signed AI infrastructure deals exceeding $10bn with hyperscalers and neoclouds this fiscal year.","Bookings grew 35% and revenue 18% in the last quarter; R&D budget is $8bn for the year.","Cisco targets 100% AI‑written software products by end of next year, with 70% by year‑end."],"whyItMatters":"Cisco's networking and silicon strategy could set the cost and capacity baseline for large‑scale AI model training, influencing the broader AI hardware market.","category":{"slug":"hardware","name":"Hardware & Compute","url":"https://digestai.news/category/hardware"},"entities":{"companies":["Cisco","Nvidia","OpenAI","Anthropic"],"models":[],"people":["Jeetu Patel","Chuck Robbins","Sam Altman","Rafe Rosner-Uddin"]},"firstPublishedAt":"2026-09-24T05:41:01Z","updatedAt":"2026-09-24T05:41:01Z","sourceCount":1,"hasPrimarySource":false,"sources":[{"outlet":"ft.com","title":"Q&A with Cisco President and CPO Jeetu Patel on its multibillion-dollar networking deals for AI infrastructure, competition from partners like Nvidia, and more","url":"https://ft.com/content/ade21fa5-3610-48ad-8699-d96afbe85e86","publishedAt":"2026-09-24T05:41:01Z","type":"press","primary":false,"lead":true}],"sourceNotes":null,"discussions":[],"thread":null,"cite":{"text":"Digest AI, \"Cisco signs over $10bn AI infrastructure deals amid competition from Nvidia\", 24 September 2026, https://digestai.news/story/cisco-signs-over-10bn-ai-infrastructure-deals-amid-competition-from-nv","publisher":"Digest AI","title":"Cisco signs over $10bn AI infrastructure deals amid competition from Nvidia","datePublished":"2026-09-24T05:41:01Z","url":"https://digestai.news/story/cisco-signs-over-10bn-ai-infrastructure-deals-amid-competition-from-nv"},"generatedBy":"Written by Digest AI's editorial model from the linked sources; the sources are the record.","license":"Headlines, digests and key points are written by Digest AI and may be quoted with a link to the story page. Linked articles belong to their publishers. Terms: https://digestai.news/terms#reuse"}