- Corporate venture capital has a new mission, Cisco Investments head Derek Idemoto told ARTHUR GOLDSTUCK in San Diego.
- Idemoto has watched the shift in venture capital from the front row, with his portfolio spanning more than 250 active investments and acquisitions and investments totaling over $50 billion.
- Cisco launched a $1 billion Global AI Investment fund last year to move fast, scale responsibly, and build lasting partnerships, with two-thirds of new investments now following an AI-native path.
- Cisco picks strategic collaborators and focuses on those that build real infrastructure and solutions, such as joining an investment round to pump $640 million into AI hardware startup Groq.
Why it matters: Cisco’s approach to innovation through strategic investments and acquisitions allows them to align emerging talent with their platform and product strategy, particularly in the rapidly evolving field of AI.
The details:
- Investments often grow into acquisitions, allowing Cisco to integrate with confidence after seeing how the team operates, how the culture fits, and how the product scales.
- Cisco backed CoreWeave, an AI infrastructure company, before their IPO, resulting in a multiplied valuation and a deepened partnership.
- Idemoto’s vision for the near future includes agentic AI, edge-native systems, and robotics that blend hardware, software, and autonomy.
- Looking further ahead, he sees the potential for enabling technologies like Quantum, optics, silicon, and photonics to accelerate network speeds and feeds, solving problems and bringing people closer together.
“I’ve met over 100,000 startups across my career. That helps me recognise what sets great founders apart: clarity of purpose, strong instincts, and a willingness to adjust course without losing direction,” Idemoto says.
When asked what AI superpower he would choose for himself, Idemoto’s answer is surprisingly down to earth: “Human connection. I want technology to give me more time with the people I care about.”
The bottom line: Cisco’s billion-dollar AI investment strategy, led by Derek Idemoto, focuses on strategic collaborations and investments in companies that build real infrastructure and solutions, with the goal of aligning emerging talent with Cisco’s platform and product strategy in the rapidly evolving field of AI.
