Cisco

Cisco builds networking, security and collaboration products for organizations. Its portfolio includes routers and switches, Silicon One networking chips used in Cisco and third-party systems, and Webex for online meetings and shared workspaces.

Sandy Lerner and Leonard Bosack founded Cisco in 1984 to connect networks that used different local protocols. Its first multiprotocol router, the AGS, launched in 1986 and let those networks communicate. Cisco later expanded into switching and cloud-managed networking, including through its 2012 acquisition of Meraki.

Silicon One, introduced in 2019, provides a programmable architecture for routing and switching across systems including data centers and service-provider networks. Cisco also introduced AI Defense in 2025 to protect the development and use of AI applications, including against data leakage and misuse of AI tools.

In 2024, Cisco completed its acquisition of Splunk for approximately $28 billion in equity value, adding security and observability products. Splunk Observability helps teams investigate application and infrastructure problems. Its Network Intelligence app uses Cisco controller data to show device topology, health and events; Agent Observability evaluates AI agents and their outputs, with tools designed to help teams identify errors and enforce guardrails.