Cisco Gathers AI Titans for High-Stakes Summit

SAN JOSE, Calif. – January 15, 2026 – In a move that solidifies its position at the heart of the artificial intelligence revolution, Cisco today announced it will convene a veritable "who's who" of the tech world for its second annual AI Summit. The event, scheduled for February 3, 2026, promises to gather the primary architects of the burgeoning trillion-dollar AI economy for a series of candid discussions on the technology's future, its governance, and its profound impact on society.

Hosted by Cisco's Chair & CEO, Chuck Robbins, and President & Chief Product Officer, Jeetu Patel, the summit will feature an unprecedented lineup of industry titans. The roster includes NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang, whose GPUs form the bedrock of the current AI boom; OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, the mind behind the generative AI wave; and legendary venture capitalist Marc Andreessen, whose firm is fueling the next generation of AI startups. They will be joined by leaders from every corner of the ecosystem, including AWS CEO Matt Garman, Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan, and renowned AI ethicist Dr. Fei-Fei Li, signaling a comprehensive dialogue that spans hardware, software, investment, and ethics.

The AI Vanguard Convenes

The significance of this gathering cannot be overstated. It represents a rare convergence of the key figures actively building and defining the AI era. Jensen Huang's presence underscores the critical role of accelerated computing and the insatiable demand for powerful hardware that underpins every AI model. His discussions are expected to touch upon the future of the data center and the push for sovereign AI capabilities, a trend where nations seek to build and control their own AI infrastructure.

Meanwhile, Sam Altman brings the perspective of the large language model pioneer, whose work has captured the public imagination and sparked intense debate about the path to Artificial General Intelligence (AGI). His insights will likely focus on the scaling challenges, energy requirements, and the crucial, ongoing effort to ensure AI develops safely and responsibly.

Adding the crucial venture capital perspective, Marc Andreessen, a vocal "techno-optimist," is expected to champion the economic and societal benefits of unfettered AI innovation. His participation provides a window into the investment trends shaping the industry and the ongoing debate between rapid advancement and cautious regulation. The summit will also feature voices from other foundational model creators, like Anthropic's CPO Mike Krieger, and leaders from companies building AI-centric tools, such as Figma's CEO Dylan Field and Box's CEO Aaron Levie, promising a multi-faceted conversation about AI's practical implementation.

Cisco's High-Stakes Play for AI's Foundation

For Cisco, hosting this summit is more than a public relations coup; it is a declaration of its strategic ambition. Traditionally known as a leader in networking and security, the company has executed a decisive pivot to become an indispensable provider of the foundational infrastructure upon which the AI economy is built. This event serves as a powerful platform to showcase that transformation.

Over the past two years, Cisco has moved from merely integrating AI features into its enterprise software to architecting the very fabric of AI data centers. This strategic shift is backed by substantial investments and impressive results. The company's AI-related orders surged past $2 billion in fiscal year 2025 and are projected to hit a staggering $4 billion in fiscal 2026, with hyperscale customers driving a significant portion of that growth.

Central to this success is the company's powerful Silicon One chip, which enables the high-throughput, low-latency networking required for massive AI training clusters. This technology, combined with its $28 billion acquisition of data observability leader Splunk, allows Cisco to offer a comprehensive view of complex digital environments, providing the security and insights necessary to manage and protect AI workloads. Its strategic partnership with NVIDIA to deliver pre-validated AI infrastructure solutions further cements its role as a one-stop shop for enterprises and cloud providers racing to deploy AI at scale.

Beyond the Hype: Tackling AI's Toughest Challenges

While the summit will undoubtedly celebrate AI's potential, its agenda promises to move beyond the hype to confront the industry's most pressing issues. The press release highlights discussions on "how AI is being built and governed at a global scale," signaling a focus on the practical and ethical hurdles that lie ahead.

These conversations are critical. The industry is grappling with immense challenges, from the staggering energy consumption of data centers to the proliferation of new security threats like "shadow AI" and adversarial attacks on models. Cisco's own 2025 AI Readiness Index revealed that only 29% of companies feel prepared to defend against AI-driven threats, highlighting a significant security gap. In response, Cisco has developed solutions like its AI Defense platform, designed to secure the entire lifecycle of AI applications.

The summit's agenda also includes geopolitics and the future of the workforce, acknowledging AI's far-reaching societal implications. The inclusion of figures like Dr. Fei-Fei Li, a leading advocate for human-centered AI, and former government officials like Anne Neuberger and Brett McGurk, ensures that conversations will extend to ethical frameworks, bias mitigation, and the need for responsible governance. This focus on "clarity and actionable perspectives" aims to provide a roadmap for developers, policymakers, and business leaders navigating the complexities of AI deployment.

An Open Invitation to a Global Dialogue

In a landscape often characterized by exclusive, high-cost industry events, Cisco is making a deliberate choice to open its summit to the world. The entire program will be livestreamed globally, with ungated access for anyone to join the conversation. This approach reflects a broader mission to foster a global dialogue about technology's role in shaping human progress.

By bringing together the builders, financiers, and ethicists of the AI revolution and broadcasting their discussions widely, Cisco is positioning itself not just as a technology provider, but as a central convener in the ongoing effort to chart a course for a more connected and intelligent future. The event promises to offer unique insight into how the most influential minds are thinking about the future of compute, venture capital, infrastructure, design, and work itself. For a single day, the architects of this new world will share a stage, offering a rare, unified glimpse into the blueprint of our AI-driven future.