Cisco
operating company Β· company profilePalo Alto
Investment thesis
Cisco is a technology infrastructure company that manufactures and manages networking devices, serving enterprise customers globally with data center modernization, workplace transformation, and cybersecurity solutions.
Source: firm website, verified Aug 6, 2026.
Founder mafia
The Cisco mafia β69 people who came through Cisco went on to found or lead other companies.
+ 57 more
What they invest in
from 15 of 16 portfolio companiesSaaS Γ7AI & Machine Learning Γ6Enterprise Software Γ6Cloud Computing Γ5Cybersecurity Γ5Fintech Γ3IoT Γ3Consumer Γ2
HQs:United StatesΓ5IndiaΓ2PhilippinesΓ1
Investments Β· 16 tracked
founders shown can be your intro pathBy year:2026 Β· 42025 Β· 12024 Β· 16 dated
Palma provides a governance and security control plane for enterprise AI agents, delivering MCP servers and Skills through a single connector with policy enforcement, human-in-the-loop approvals, PII redaction, and tamper-evident audit.
AI & Machine LearningCybersecurityEnterprise SoftwareSan Francisco, US
Patrick Eden(Director)Patrick Eden (formerly Gruhn)(Founder)
Smartlook provided session replay, heatmaps, and funnel analysis tools for monitoring user behavior on websites and mobile applications.
SaaS
Co-investorsReflex Capital
Theta Lake provides Digital Communications Governance and Archiving (DCGA) software that captures, archives, and supervises unified communications such as voice, video, chat, and email for compliance and security teams.
AI & Machine LearningCybersecurityEdTechSaaS
Rich Sutton(Founder)in
Co-investorsBattery VenturesCisco InvestmentsFlyover CapitalNeotribe Ventures
Whatfix is a data-driven enterprise digital adoption platform (DAP) that helps organizations and their users get more value from software through in-app guidance, product analytics, and related tools.
Enterprise SoftwareFuture of WorkSaaSBengaluru, IN
Khadim Batti(Co-founder & CEO)inVara Kumar Namburu(Co-founder & Head of R&D)inAmit KKS(Chief Financial Officer)
Co-investorsWarburg PincusEight Roads VenturesHelion Venture PartnersCisco InvestmentsF-Prime CapitalPeak XV Partners+3 more
Actility develops ThingPark, a hardware-agnostic IoT platform for deploying LPWAN networks (LoRaWAN, LTE-M, NB-IoT, and satellite) from single gateways to nationwide scale.
Cloud ComputingIoTSaaS
Co-investorsBosch VenturesCisco InvestmentsKPN VenturesRobert Bosch Venture CapitalBNP ParibasBosch+2 more
Amrit Malwa Capital Limited is a finance company offering two-wheeler loans, e-bike loans, e-rickshaw loans, and loan-against-property (LAP) to served and underserved customers.
Fintech
Co-investorsCreation Investments Capital ManagementAramco VenturesSaudi AramcoVolta Circle
Ayla Networks operates an IoT platform that lets manufacturers and brands build or expand connected products, including smart home devices and cameras with AI integration.
Cloud ComputingIoTSaaS
Co-investorsAcorn Pacific VenturesArrowroot CapitalCisco InvestmentsSJF VenturesVoyager CapitalIFC
Deskera offers a cloud-based all-in-one business management platform that combines ERP, MRP, CRM, and HR/time-tracking functions for companies.
Advanced ManufacturingCloud ComputingEnterprise SoftwareFintechSaaS
Co-investorsJungle VenturesTembusu PartnersWe VenturesCisco InvestmentsInnoVen CapitalJungle+1 more
Kumu is a social gaming platform where players join live multiplayer games such as Color Game, Pusoy, and Tongits with real-time voice chat, reactions, and token-based prizes.
ConsumerGamingSocial
Co-investorsGobi PartnersManila Angel Investors NetworkOpenspace VenturesFoxmont Capital PartnersKhosla VenturesNew Enterprise Associates (NEA)+3 more
NetFoundry provides identity-first zero trust connectivity for distributed workloads across AI, APIs, IoT, and enterprise infrastructure, eliminating attack surfaces without requiring open ports or VPN changes.
Cloud ComputingCybersecurityEnterprise SoftwareIoT
Galeal Zino(Founder)inDavid Hart(Founder)in
Co-investorsCisco InvestmentsEnerdigm VenturesSyn Ventures Seed Management LlcSYN Ventures
OpenDNS provides DNS and internet security services for consumers seeking safer and faster browsing at home, and formerly offered enterprise security products now branded under Cisco Umbrella.
ConsumerCybersecuritySan Francisco, US
David Ulevitch(Founder and CEO)Halsey Minor(Co-Founder / Early Investor (Minor Ventures))Nand Mulchandani(CEO (interim))Dan Hubbard(Chief Technology Officer)Dana Wolf(Head of Products)
BoardMichael Goguen(Board Member (representing Sequoia Capital))
Co-investorsCisco InvestmentsDag VenturesEvolution Equity PartnersGlynn Capital ManagementGreylock PartnersLumia Capital+4 more
RingCentral provides cloud-based unified communications and AI-powered contact center solutions for businesses, serving over 600,000 customers worldwide.
AI & Machine LearningCloud ComputingEnterprise SoftwareFuture of WorkSaaS
Co-investorsAkkadian VenturesAlphaDriveArka Venture LabsDag VenturesKhosla VenturesSequoia Capital+1 more
Scale provides high-quality training data, model evaluations, and full-stack AI systems for enterprises and governments to build and deploy AI applications.
AI & Machine LearningData & InfrastructureDeveloper ToolsEnterprise SoftwareSan Francisco, US
Alexandr Wang(Co-founder & CEO)inLucy Guo(Co-founder)in
Co-investorsAccelAdit Ventures Management, LlcBeyond CapitalCheyenne VenturesCoatue ManagementFelicis Ventures+32 more
Starship operates a fleet of autonomous sidewalk delivery robots that transport hot food, groceries and industrial supplies using radar, cameras, sensors and machine learning to navigate.
AI & Machine LearningLogistics & Supply ChainRobotics
Ahti Heinla(Founder)in
Co-investorsMorpheus VenturesBenchmarkCedar CapitalCisco InvestmentsEQTManhattan West+4 more
Team8 is a venture capital firm that backs Seed and Series A founders in cybersecurity, software infrastructure, fintech, and digital health, working alongside them from early stages with a team of builders and a network of enterprise C-level leaders.
AI & Machine LearningCybersecurityDigital HealthFintech
Co-investorsAtento CapitalBessemer Venture PartnersCisco InvestmentsMarkerMunich Re VenturesQualcomm+2 more
Vienna, US
Brian Ballard(Executive Officer, Director)Chris Hoyt(Executive Officer)Craig Cummings(Director)Kelly Perdew(Director)Betsy Atkins(Director)
BoardPeter Barris(Director)
Co-investorsDorm RoomLDV CapitalMotley Fool VenturesGE VenturesNew Enterprise Associates (NEA)
Portfolio news
latest coverage across their companiesStarship Β· newsletter.terrawatchspace.com Β· Aug 24, 2026
Team8 Β· alpha-maven.com Β· Aug 18, 2026
Amrit Malwa Capital Β· techcrunch.com Β· Aug 12, 2026
Whatfix Β· whalesbook.com Β· Jul 16, 2026
Scale AI Β· secondtalent.com Β· Jun 30, 2026
Upskill Β· eda.gov Β· May 11, 2026
NetFoundry Β· pulse2.com Β· Nov 25, 2025
Frequently asked questions
- What sectors does Cisco focus on?
- Cisco focuses on Cloud Computing, Cybersecurity, Enterprise Software.
- Where is Cisco located?
- Cisco is headquartered in Palo Alto, US.
- Who does Cisco co-invest with?
- Cisco most often shares deals with Evolution Equity Partners, Glynn Capital Management, Greylock Partners, among 8 tracked co-investors.
Media Β· Podcasts & interviews
from their channelThe Evolution of Good Technologyβ―| Tech Unscripted
Cisco
Scaling Industrial AI with Tested Blueprints
Cisco Β· youtube.com
Unified Operations: The Future of Cisco Network Management
Cisco
Talking women in tech leadership and marketing in the AI era with Carrie Palin
Cisco
Hyperscalers, NeoClouds, Sovereign Clouds and Service Providers with Jeetu Patel and Guru Shenoy
Cisco
The Evolution of Ciscoβs Silicon Architecture with Jeetu Patel, Nick Kucharewski, and Mohammad Issa
Cisco
Images
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