Cisco chief discusses AI partnerships with Samsung, Hyundai, and Naver

Cisco Chairman Chuck Robbins

Cisco Chairman Chuck Robbins engaged in high-level discussions with the top executives of Samsung Electronics, Hyundai Motor Group, and Naver Corporation during his visit to South Korea from June 17-19, focusing on potential collaborations in the AI sector.

Robbins met with Samsung Electronics Chairman Jay Y. Lee, Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Eui-sun, and Naver CEO Choi Soo-yeon. He emphasized the long-standing partnership between Cisco and Samsung, highlighting their close cooperation in semiconductor and telecommunications equipment. Cisco has historically supplied routers and switches to Samsung, while Samsung has provided memory and processors to Cisco.

“With Samsung, we had in-depth discussions about AI and communication trends,” Robbins said.

Cisco introduced its ‘Silicon One’ chip brand in 2019 to facilitate smooth communication between system semiconductors. Last year, it launched the Silicon One G200, a networking chip capable of connecting 32,000 GPUs and transmitting data at 51.2 terabits per second. Samsung’s foundry division could manufacture these chips, and the two companies would explore joint solutions for AI data centers.

Robbins also met with Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Eui-sun at the latter’s Seoul Yangjae headquarters to discuss AI security. “As someone born in Georgia, it was significant to meet Chung, given Hyundai’s new electric vehicle plant in Georgia,” Robbins noted. The two focused on enhancing vehicle security in the era of autonomous cars, especially as Hyundai advances its software-defined vehicle (SDV) initiative. Cisco’s new AI-based security solution, Hypershield, which protects devices and applications from various security threats regardless of location or connection method, was a key topic of discussion. Cisco has a lot of potential to collaborate with Hyundai Motor on SDV. Chung and Robbins met in 2016 and envisioned developing “vehicle network technology” together.

At Naver, Robbins discussed exporting AI models with CEO Choi Soo-yeon and Naver Cloud CEO Kim Yu-won.

“Naver is a technological powerhouse with its own large language model (LLM) and is a champion of local cloud services,” Robbins said, They explored potential joint ventures related to sovereign cloud and AI models in other countries. Naver recently partnered with Saudi Arabia’s Aramco Digital to develop an Arabic LLM.

Despite its technological prowess, Naver lags behind global big tech firms in computing power, such as GPUs. The collaboration between Naver’s software leadership and Cisco’s networking hardware could bridge this gap.

Robbins also met with South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo to discuss IT talent development. Cisco has established a $1 billion fund to nurture startups and expand the AI ecosystem, investing in companies like Cohere, Mistral AI, and Scale AI. “We are looking for startups to invest in within Korea as well,” Robbins said.

Founded in 1984 by Stanford University computer scientists, Cisco gained fame with its LAN technology, connecting distant computers through routers. During the internet boom, it reached a market capitalization of $555.4 billion in March 2000, becoming the most valuable company in the U.S. Since Robbins became CEO in 2015, Cisco has shifted its focus to software, including AI, security, and collaboration tools.

Last year, Cisco generated $57 billion in revenue and $12.6 billion in operating profit, employing 83,000 people across 312 global offices. The company’s business segments include networking, security, collaboration, and observability. Cisco recently acquired Splunk for $28 billion to enhance its security and observability capabilities.

“Customers are focusing on securing infrastructure for AI model deployment, and Cisco is adding value through the Splunk acquisition,” Robbins explained.

Cisco continues to update its Silicon One networking chip architecture and has its own AI model. Its collaboration tool Webex incorporates AI for meeting summaries, action item organization, and noise cancellation. “Our AI operates on a strong security foundation,” Robbins noted, attracting partnerships with major global chip companies like Nvidia. Nvidia and Cisco recently introduced the ‘Cisco Nexus HyperFabric AI Cluster,’ a unified AI data center solution. Nvidia provides GPUs, while Cisco offers verified design and monitoring solutions. “We are working with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang to make AI deployment easier through secure infrastructure,” Robbins said.

These integrated data centers are expected to be adopted by companies with widespread operations. “We are also discussing strategic collaborations with AMD and Intel,” Robbins added, emphasizing the importance of merging hardware and software.

Since taking office, Robbins has aimed to achieve 50 percent of Cisco’s revenue from subscription-based software by 2025, a goal met a year ahead of schedule. “High-performance hardware and software are both essential for AI models to operate in the cloud,” he said.