“Banner year” is a phrase that can be thrown around a little too loosely – but it may be difficult to overstate just how significant a year 2023 was for Cisco Corporate Development and Cisco Investments.
We successfully closed nine acquisitions, and announced two more, including our intent to acquire Splunk for $28B. We made eight investments, focusing on some exciting new solutions such as quantum networking, and cloud threat detection and response. We created a roadmap for the modern Chief Information Security Officer, identifying new themes for modern enterprise, and key pain points managing cybersecurity. We also continued our work in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, making more investments in diverse-led startups from our Aspire Fund, ensuring that diverse-led startups and venture funds have equal access to venture capital.
These are just a few of our standout moments from a transformative 2023, and our team leaders go into so much more in the video.
We actively acquired and invested in cutting-edge startups in 2023, working toward our mission of building an inclusive future for all. By aligning ourselves with startups that resonate with our vision for the future of technology, possess a robust talent pool, and harmonize with Cisco's culture, we have strategically broadened our ecosystem. We highlight some of the remarkable startups that we have proudly included into the Cisco ecosystem over the last year in our extensive Year in Review.
*Investments that are follow-ons
**Announced intent to acquire
Three years ago, Cisco and Cisco Investments initiated the Aspire Fund, a dedicated effort to amplify our diversity investments. This fund, initially set at $50 million, is exclusively designed to financially empower and promote the growth of diverse-led startups and Venture Capital funds.
Decades of experience, in areas such as business development, go-to-market tactics, technology alliances, integrations, and customer programs, are put into practice by our team of portfolio development specialists. Working together with our startups, they create customized acceleration strategies that make use of Cisco's resources and expertise to help startups accomplish their goals.
Our approach to corporate venture capitalism sets us apart. We not only provide startups with the necessary capital to flourish but also facilitate vital connections and guidance to help them realize their full potential through our portfolio development.
Head of Portfolio Development, Cisco Investments
Whether you’re a customer looking for insights into a specific technology, an introduction to one of our portfolio companies, or a long-term partner to help drive innovation that delivers business results, we provide expertise tailored for every need.
The leadership team at Cisco Investments offers their insights from 2023 and what lies ahead in 2024.
As we look forward to 2024, AI has become a pervasive term. It has the ability to power new and old use cases, in areas such as security policy implementations and the contact centers. AI also presents new areas for innovation in compliance and governance, for trustworthy and responsible AI in the years to come.
Vice President
We can already see the impact AI is going to have on networking, introducing new demands to properly integrate the technology. We look forward to enhancing our portfolio to more fully support AI in networking.
Vice President
Our interactive virtual summits and live events served as a stage for both well-established and up-and-coming startups to share their insightful narratives. These events can be revisited anytime with our on-demand viewing feature.
Dive into our curated selection of news, insights, and highlights featuring our team and startups.
Featuring engaging dialogues with exceptional founders, our blog offers insightful articles about groundbreaking technologies and trends.
Nothing presented herein is intended to constitute investment advice, and under no circumstances should any information provided herein be used or considered as an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy an interest in any investment fund managed by Cisco Investments. Cisco Investments does not solicit or make its services available to the public. Due to various risks and uncertainties, actual events, results or the actual experience may differ materially from those reflected or contemplated statements above. The investments and exits identified and discussed herein do not represent all of the exits or investments made or recommended by Cisco Investments and may not be representative of any current or future investments. The performance of these investments is not necessarily indicative of the performance of all investments made or recommended by Cisco Investments. It should not be assumed that any future investments will be profitable or will equal the performance of the companies identified herein. No guarantee of investment performance is being provided and no inference to the contrary should be made. Past performance is not indicative of future results.