Cisco Investment

Cisco Investments is the corporate venture capital arm of Cisco Systems, established to fuel innovation and strategically partner with fast-growing technology startups. The firm focuses on deepening, broadening, and adding value to Cisco's core capabilities by investing in companies that align with its strategic vision for the future of technology. Their investment strategy emphasizes long-term value creation and provides portfolio companies with access to Cisco's extensive sales and marketing resources, global customer base, and thought leadership.

Founded in 1993, Cisco Investments has a long history of driving innovation through entrepreneurial partnerships. For over three decades, the firm has actively invested in, merged with, or acquired hundreds of technology startups. This strategic investment approach is integral to Cisco's overall business, aiming to identify and support companies that are poised to transform industries and contribute to building an inclusive future through innovation.

Cisco Investments maintains an active portfolio of over 100 companies and has made hundreds of investments across various technology segments. The firm recently launched a $1 billion AI investment fund, making strategic investments in leading AI companies such as Cohere, Mistral AI, and Scale AI to advance AI readiness and complement Cisco's innovation strategy. Other notable investments span areas like networking, security, cloud, collaboration, and 5G infrastructure, with examples including AppDynamics and CloudLock. The firm also holds Limited Partner positions in over 35 funds globally.

The Cisco Investments team comprises experienced professionals with deep market and technology expertise, strategically located in major geographies worldwide. Leaders like Janey Hoe (Vice President), Jon Koplin (Managing Director), Derek Idemoto (Senior Vice President), Prasad Parthasarathi (Senior Director), and Aleem Rizvon (Vice President) guide the firm's investment decisions. The team is known for being founder-friendly and collaborative, leveraging their collective experience in M&A, venture capital, and specific technology domains like Collaboration, Data Analytics, Cloud & Compute, and Networking to identify opportunities and accelerate the growth of their portfolio companies.