Cisco and Nvidia Forge AI Infrastructure Partnership: powering the Next Wave of Innovation
October 29,2025 – Cisco today announced a series of significant advancements designed to accelerate the deployment of secure,scalable Artificial Intelligence (AI) infrastructure across diverse market segments. Central to this push is a deepened strategic partnership with AI industry leader, Nvidia, addressing the critical need for networking solutions capable of supporting the explosive growth of AI workloads.
The demand for AI is driving an unprecedented build-out of data center capacity, and the underlying network infrastructure is facing immense pressure. As AI transitions from localized applications to powering a vast ecosystem of connected devices – from augmented reality and autonomous vehicles to industrial robotics – existing networks are proving inadequate.Cisco recognizes that both the front-end and back-end Ethernet networks must evolve to meet these demands, offering the flexibility, seamless integration, and simplified management required for rapid AI innovation.
“We’re at the beginning of the largest data center build-out in history,” states Jeetu patel, Cisco President and Chief Product Officer. “The infrastructure that will power the agentic AI applications and innovation of the future requires new architectures designed to overcome today’s constraints in power, computing, and network performance.Together, Cisco and Nvidia are leading the way in defining the technologies that will power these AI-ready data centers in all their varieties, from emerging neoclouds, to global service providers, to enterprises and beyond.”
Introducing the Cisco N9100: A Groundbreaking AI-Optimized Switch
A cornerstone of Cisco’s AI strategy is the Cisco N9100 series switch, the first partner-developed data center switch built upon Nvidia Spectrum-X Ethernet switch silicon. This collaboration represents a significant leap forward in AI networking, delivering a reference architecture compliant with Nvidia’s Cloud Partner program, specifically tailored for neocloud and sovereign cloud deployments.
The N9100 offers customers a critical choice: deployment with either Cisco’s robust NX-OS or the open-source Sonic operating system. This flexibility allows organizations to tailor their AI infrastructure to their specific needs and existing skillsets. Leveraging Cisco’s Silicon One and Cloud-scale ASIC offerings, the cisco Cloud Reference Architecture, built on Nvidia’s Cloud Partner principles, provides a foundation for building highly efficient and scalable AI environments. The N9100 series is available for order before the end of the year.
Key benefits of the Cisco N9100 include:
* Optimized for AI: Built on Nvidia spectrum-X, designed for the unique demands of AI workloads.
* Flexibility: Choice of NX-OS or Sonic operating systems.
* Scalability: Leverages Cisco’s proven cloud-scale ASIC technology.
* Compliance: nvidia Cloud Partner-compliant reference architecture for neocloud and sovereign cloud.
Enhanced Security and Observability with cisco Secure AI Factory
For enterprise customers, Cisco is introducing enhancements to the Cisco Secure AI Factory with Nvidia, unveiled in March 2025. This architecture provides a extensive framework for securing and monitoring AI deployments, addressing a critical concern as AI adoption accelerates.
The Secure AI Factory strengthens protection and visibility across the entire AI lifecycle, integrating new security and observability features. Built on Cisco AI pods and Nexus switching powered by Silicon One, the solution delivers:
* Proactive Security: Advanced threat detection and prevention tailored for AI environments.
* Comprehensive Observability: Real-time monitoring and analytics for performance optimization and troubleshooting.
* Ecosystem Expansion: Integration with leading security and AI platforms.
* Goverment Readiness: Features designed to meet stringent compliance requirements.
Pioneering the AI-Native Wireless Stack for 6G
Looking ahead, cisco, Nvidia, and a consortium of partners are pioneering the future of wireless connectivity with the industry’s first AI-native wireless stack for 6G. This groundbreaking progress aims to address the escalating demands placed on wireless networks by the proliferation of AI-powered devices.
As AI extends beyond smartphones to encompass augmented reality,connected vehicles,and robotics,wireless networks will need to support billions of connections with unprecedented scale and efficiency.The American AI-RAN stack developed by Cisco and Nvidia integrates sensing and dialog, offering multiple pre-6G applications and paving the way for next-generation connectivity in the telecom industry.
A Unified Approach to AI Infrastructure
Cisco’s comprehensive approach, combined with Nvidia’s AI expertise, provides neocloud, enterprise, and telecom customers with the flexibility and interoperability needed to efficiently build, manage, and secure AI infrastructure at scale.