Cisco and NVIDIA are reshaping the foundations of enterprise AI with a new architectural approach that places security at its core. The collaboration, announced as an extension of their growing partnership, introduces the Cisco Secure AI Factory with NVIDIA — an initiative aimed at simplifying AI deployment while ensuring robust protection across infrastructure, workloads, and applications.
The demand for AI infrastructure has surged, bringing both opportunities and risks. As enterprises race to integrate AI-driven capabilities, security concerns have escalated. Cisco and NVIDIA are positioning their joint solution as a way to address these concerns from the outset, embedding security into every layer of AI infrastructure rather than treating it as an afterthought.
Chuck Robbins, Cisco’s Chair and CEO, emphasised that seamless integration of networking and security is critical for enterprises looking to leverage AI. Jensen Huang, NVIDIA’s founder and CEO, underscored the urgency of security in AI adoption, highlighting the potential risks to data, applications, and infrastructure.
The architecture is built on the NVIDIA Spectrum-X Ethernet networking platform, with Cisco incorporating security solutions like Cisco Hypershield and Cisco AI Defense. These tools are designed to secure AI models at every stage of their lifecycle, offering proactive threat detection, policy enforcement, and vulnerability mitigation. Customers will have the flexibility to design AI infrastructure tailoured to their needs, whether through a fully integrated solution or a modular, build-your-own approach.
AI factories — purpose-built data centres optimised for AI workloads — are central to this strategy. The Cisco State of AI Security report outlines the complex threat landscape enterprises face, citing AI-specific attack vectors and evolving regulatory frameworks. By aligning AI infrastructure and security, Cisco and NVIDIA argue, businesses can scale AI with greater agility and confidence.
This partnership also extends to key ecosystem players, integrating compute, networking, and storage from vendors such as Pure Storage, Hitachi Vantara, NetApp, and VAST Data. Security is layered throughout, from network enforcement to application-level defences, incorporating NVIDIA BlueField-3 DPUs for advanced threat detection and Cisco AI Defense for model integrity and compliance.
The AI boom has led to an urgent need for infrastructure solutions that are both high-performing and secure. Cisco and NVIDIA are betting that enterprises will prioritise security alongside innovation, and they are moving quickly to bring their joint architecture to market. The first deployments are expected before the end of 2025, offering a blueprint for enterprises navigating the AI era with a focus on resilience and trust.