Cisco is close to investing in CoreWeave worth $23 billion

CISCO Systems has agreed to invest in CoreWeave, a cloud services provider that is one of the hottest artificial intelligence (AI) startups, in a deal that values ​​the company at $23 billion, according to sources with knowledge of the matter.

CoreWeave, led by CEO Michael Intrator, is discussing a so-called secondary transaction that would allow existing shareholders, such as employees, to bid as part of an offering of between $400 million and $500 million of their shares, Bloomberg reported last month. The deal is close to finalization, say the sources, who asked not to be identified because of private information.

CoreWeave, based in Roseland, New Jersey, is considering an initial public offering as soon as next year.

Representatives for CoreWeave and Cisco declined to comment.

CoreWeave, whose investors include Nvidia, Magnetar Capital, Coatue Management, Jane Street and Fidelity, was the first to introduce Nvidia graphics chips into data centers, ahead of a wave of demand for powerful processors to run AI applications. It builds data centers based on Nvidia chips to offer artificial intelligence computing.

Cisco executives are trying to ensure its technology finds use in the rapid expansion of data centers, and the networking equipment supplier believes the resulting increase in data flow is driving growing demand for its products. BLOOMBERG