Cisco and Nvidia We’ve extended our Secure AI Factory architecture to support and enable organizations to deploy AI beyond centralized data centers. A.I. Workloads closer to where data is generated and decisions are made.
Announced at GTC and shared via LinkedIn by Cisco Chairman and CEO Chuck Robbins, the update introduces new infrastructure capabilities across edge environments, service provider networks, and enterprise systems. This move reflects a shift toward operationalizing AI at scale, especially in use cases where latency and real-time processing are critical.
Robbins said in a LinkedIn post. “At GTC, we announced a significant expansion of our Secure AI Factory in collaboration with NVIDIA to help our customers easily and securely extend AI from the data center to the edge.”
He added, “We’re excited about the potential to help enterprises, neoclouds, sovereign clouds, and service providers move AI from pilot to production without piecing together disconnected systems. This allows them to deploy faster with security built in from the beginning.”
Extend your AI infrastructure to the edge
The expanded architecture enables organizations to run AI workloads across distributed environments, including locations such as hospitals, factories, and transportation systems, where data is generated in real time.
Cisco is introducing support for NVIDIA RTX PRO 4500 Blackwell Server Edition GPUs across its UCS and Unified Edge portfolio, enabling AI inference at the edge without the need for a full data center infrastructure. The company is also launching a reference design for service providers that combines Cisco networking platforms with NVIDIA GPUs to support managed AI services.
This reflects a broader shift in AI deployment models, where inference is increasingly performed closer to the data source rather than in a centralized environment.
Performance under pressure and speed of deployment
Cisco also introduced network infrastructure updates to support large-scale AI workloads, including new high-speed switches and integration within the Nexus platform.
The company says the updated architecture reduces the complexity of multivendor environments, simplifies deployment, and allows organizations to move from pilot projects to production systems more quickly.
NVIDIA Founder and CEO Jensen Huang said: “The AI factory is transforming every industry, and protecting data, applications, and infrastructure requires building security into every layer from silicon to software.”
He added, “Together, NVIDIA and Cisco are building a secure foundation for AI infrastructure from the core to the edge so enterprises can scale intelligence with confidence.”
Security built into AI systems and agents
This expansion also introduces additional security features, including increased firewall coverage and new controls for AI agents operating across distributed systems.
Cisco is integrating AI defense capabilities with the NVIDIA platform, including support for agent-based systems and development environments. This includes monitoring and validating agent behavior as organizations begin to deploy more autonomous AI systems across workflows.
This update is designed to address emerging risks associated with decentralized AI systems, especially when models and agents operate and interact across multiple environments.
The latest releases demonstrate our continued focus on making AI infrastructure usable in production environments where performance, cost, and security requirements must be balanced across increasingly complex systems.
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