Cisco announces new AI initiatives in Middle East region

Cisco (CSCO) announced a series of strategic initiatives across all phases of the AI revolution in the United States and in the Middle East region. These new initiatives place Cisco at the center of the AI revolution in the Gulf, providing world class and trusted technology together with other Cisco partners, the company said. The announcements this morning follow the visit last week by CEO Chuck Robbins to Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, and Bahrain, and the visit today by Jeetu Patel, EVP and Chief Product Officer, to Saudi Arabia, where he is participating in President Trump’s state visit to the region. Cisco said it will collaborate with the AI Infrastructure Partnership, which is led by BlackRock (BLK), Global Infrastructure Partners, MGX, Microsoft (MSFT), NVIDIA (NVDA) and xAI. AIP will initially seek to unlock $30B in capital from investors, asset owners, and corporations. Cisco’s addition as a technology partner to AIP, further strengthens the AIP platform as it seeks to invest in secure, efficient and scalable infrastructure to support AI workloads. Cisco also has announced to join a groundbreaking initiative with HUMAIN, Saudi Arabia’s new AI enterprise to help build the world’s most open, scalable, resilient and cost-efficient AI infrastructure. Additionally, Cisco will extend strategic partnership with G42 to further advance AI innovation and infrastructure development in the UAE. The collaboration focuses on Cisco’s comprehensive secure AI portfolio and AI-native solutions and services and G42’s deep regional roots, AI infrastructure expertise, and expanding global footprint including a potential joint Go-To-Market initiative. Qatar’s Ministry of Interior and Cisco signed a letter of intent to collaborate on Qatar’s digital transformation, AI, infrastructure development and cybersecurity.