Cisco

Leonard Bosack and Sandy Lerner ran the computer facilities of Stanford UniversityStanford UniversityStanford University is a research university in California founded by Leland and Jane Stanford in 1885 and opened in 1891.Open the full entry’s Computer Science Department and Graduate School of Business, respectively. Experimenting with connecting detached networks, they ran network cables between two campus buildings and began exploring better ways to interconnect networks.⁠[1]

In 1984, Sandy Lerner and Leonard Bosack incorporated cisco Systems. They dreamed of “disparate networks talking with each other and sharing information reliably,” and the multi-protocol router was born to handle different local area protocols.⁠[2]

The company was founded on December 10, 1984.⁠[3]

In 1985 the company shipped its first product, the Massbus-Ethernet Interface Subsystem (MEIS), an Ethernet adapter for DEC computers that “wasn’t technically a router.” The name was a shortening of San Francisco, and the first logo, drawn by Bosack with parabolic equations, was an abstraction of the Golden Gate Bridge. The AGS (Advanced Gateway Server), launched in 1986, was the first commercially available multi-protocol router.⁠[4]

In December 1987, Don Valentine of Sequoia CapitalSequoia CapitalSequoia Capital is a venture capital firm founded by Don Valentine in 1972, investing from the seed stage through the growth stage. Its historical investments include Apple, Cisco, Google, YouTube, Airbnb, and Stripe; in 2021 it introduced the Sequoia Capital Fund structure, which can continue to hold public securities, and in 2023 its regional businesses became independent brands and partnerships.Open the full entry provided the company’s first infusion of outside funding, $2.5 million. The company was already profitable, and the venture backing allowed it to grow rapidly.⁠[5]

The founders sold a third of the company for the $2.5 million.⁠[3]

In 1988, John Morgridge joined Cisco as president and CEO.⁠[5]

Cisco went public on February 16, 1990, listed as “CSCO” on Nasdaq, with a market capitalization of $224 million.⁠[6]

Soon afterward Lerner was fired, and Bosack resigned in solidarity.⁠[3]

The same year the company launched the Networkers Users Symposiums, later renamed Cisco Live. Its logo was also redesigned in 1990, turning the bridge into a “digital signal” while keeping the lowercase “cisco Systems” styling.⁠[7]

In 1991, Cisco opened its first international offices, in Paris, France, and Toronto, Canada.⁠[7]

John Chambers joined Cisco in January 1991 after working at Wang Laboratories and IBM.⁠[8]

In 1993, Cisco made its first acquisition, Crescendo Communications Inc. Crescendo’s high-speed switching capabilities became the Catalyst workgroup switch and the CDDI/FDDI workgroup concentrator.⁠[9]

In 1994, Cisco acquired Kalpana, a pioneer of Ethernet switching, and implemented a new strategic acquisition plan “allowing rapid entry to new markets,” first applied in switching. The Catalyst Switch, introduced that year, was the first new product from the Crescendo acquisition.⁠[10]

That year Cisco also opened its San Jose campus, which became the site of its corporate headquarters, the company’s first custom-designed site.⁠[10]

On November 15, 1994, Cisco announced that John Morgridge would become chairman of the board and John Chambers president and CEO, effective at the end of January 1995. Under Morgridge, annual sales grew from $5 million to over $1.2 billion.⁠[8]

On March 27, 2000, Cisco became the world’s most valuable company by market capitalization, at $569 billion.⁠[11]

On June 8, 2006, Cisco announced a board succession plan under which John Chambers, president and CEO since January 1995, would become chairman effective at the annual shareholder meeting on November 15, 2006. John Morgridge did not seek re-election and became chairman emeritus.⁠[12]

Beginning June 8, 2009, Cisco replaced General Motors, which had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, in the Dow Jones Industrial Average.⁠[13]

Cisco sold its home networking product lines, including Linksys, to Belkin. The sale was finalized on March 15, 2013.⁠[14]

On December 5, 2014, Cisco filed suit against Arista Networks in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, alleging that Arista used 12 Cisco features covered by 14 patents. In June 2016 the U.S. International Trade Commission ruled that Arista infringed three Cisco patents and recommended a limited import ban, and Arista modified some products.⁠[15]

On August 6, 2018, the two companies entered into a binding term sheet: Arista would pay Cisco $400 million by August 20, 2018, all pending district court and ITC litigation would be dismissed, Arista would modify its command line interface and release Cisco from all past antitrust claims. They also agreed to a five-year stand-down on utility patent claims and a three-year dispute resolution process.⁠[16]

Cisco’s board appointed Chuck Robbins chief executive officer effective July 26, 2015, when John Chambers would assume the role of executive chairman. Robbins joined Cisco in December 1997 and was promoted to senior vice president, Worldwide Field Operations, in October 2012.⁠[17]

During Chambers’s tenure, Cisco expanded from $1.2 billion in annual revenue to $48 billion.⁠[18]

On July 22, 2015, Technicolor announced it would acquire Cisco’s Connected Devices division. The sale of the Connected Devices product lines, including Scientific Atlanta, was finalized on February 21, 2016.⁠[19]

In 2017, Cisco acquired AppDynamics, an application performance management provider.⁠[20]

In September 2023, Cisco announced its acquisition of Splunk.⁠[20]

On March 18, 2024, Cisco completed the acquisition of Splunk for $157 per share in cash, approximately $28 billion in equity value. Splunk’s common stock ceased trading on Nasdaq before the market opened that day, and Gary Steele became Cisco’s executive vice president and general manager, Splunk.⁠[21]

On May 13, 2026, Cisco announced a restructuring plan, which it expected to be substantially completed by the end of fiscal 2027.⁠[22]

Cisco’s offerings are grouped into Networking, Security, Collaboration and Observability. As of July 25, 2026, it had approximately 82,400 employees.⁠[23]

For fiscal 2026, ended July 25, 2026, Cisco’s total revenue was $63.3 billion, up 12%, and GAAP net income was $13.3 billion, up 30%. AI infrastructure orders totaled $9.3 billion.⁠[22]