Cisco has announced its intention to purchase NeuralFabric, a Redmond-based artificial intelligence company established by a team of former Microsoft professionals who specialize in creating
infrastructure software that enables organizations to construct and operate their proprietary generative AI models. The acquisition price has not been made public.
According to the California-based enterprise technology giant, this acquisition will enhance its AI Canvas project, which is a generative user interface and collaborative platform that was introduced earlier this year.
In a Thursday morning statement, Cisco emphasized NeuralFabric’s proficiency in distributed computing systems, model training capabilities, and adaptable deployment options as valuable additions to its current AI assistant technology, cybersecurity model portfolio, and data fabric approach.
DJ Sampath, who serves as senior vice president for AI software and platforms at Cisco, stated in the company’s announcement that NeuralFabric has successfully solved a critical challenge by creating technology that allows organizations to build their own specialized small language models utilizing their proprietary information across both cloud-based and on-site infrastructure.
The startup, which operates out of Redmond, was established in 2023 by a group of technology veterans. Weijie Lin, who previously worked in Azure engineering at Microsoft, serves as CEO. The founding team also includes John deVadoss, a long-serving Microsoft executive, along with AI entrepreneur Jesus Rodriguez as president and cloud security specialist Mark Baciak as CTO. Drew Gude, formerly a director at Microsoft, holds the position of chief revenue officer and is also listed among the early leadership team.
Based on LinkedIn data, NeuralFabric currently has approximately nine employees. Cisco has indicated that the transaction should be finalized during the second quarter of its fiscal year 2026, which concludes at the end of January. Following completion, the
NeuralFabric team members will become part of Cisco’s AI Software and Platform division.
As of a February 2024 announcement, NeuralFabric had secured a minimum of five million dollars in investment capital. According to PitchBook records, the company’s investors include Collab+Currency, CMT Digital, and New Form Capital.
The acquisition represents Cisco’s continued expansion into the enterprise artificial intelligence market. By incorporating
NeuralFabric’s technology and expertise, the company aims to strengthen its position in helping businesses develop and deploy AI solutions tailored to their specific needs and data requirements.
The deal highlights the growing importance of domain-specific AI models in the enterprise sector, where companies increasingly seek to leverage their proprietary data to create customized artificial intelligence applications. NeuralFabric’s platform addresses the technical complexities involved in building and managing these specialized models, making advanced AI capabilities more accessible to organizations regardless of their infrastructure choices.