Cisco has joined forces with SharonAI Holdings Inc. and its subsidiaries (“Sharon AI”), a leading Australian neocloud provider, to introduce Australia’s first Cisco Secure AI Factory in partnership with NVIDIA. With this move, the companies are accelerating the country’s transition toward secure, sovereign, and high-performance artificial intelligence infrastructure.
Importantly, the new initiative keeps all data and AI processing within Australia. As a result, enterprises and government agencies can scale AI workloads while maintaining full data sovereignty. At the same time, the Cisco Secure AI Factory strengthens national digital infrastructure and directly supports Australia’s newly introduced National AI Plan. By aligning with this framework, the platform promotes the responsible development and adoption of AI across industries.
AI Authority Trend: IBM and Cisco Announce Plans to Build Long-Distance Quantum Computer Networks by Early 2030s
Moreover, Sharon AI will deliver tailored AI solutions designed to meet the unique needs of different sectors. Customers will also gain access to a dedicated sandbox environment, allowing them to test proof-of-concept projects before full deployment. This hands-on approach ensures businesses can innovate confidently while minimizing operational risk.
At its core, the Cisco Secure AI Factory with NVIDIA integrates several advanced technologies. Cisco powers the infrastructure with its UCS servers, alongside its security and networking portfolio, delivering accelerated AI capabilities. Additionally, Nexus Hyperfabric operates as part of the Nexus One unified management plane, enabling streamlined control and scalability.
Meanwhile, the deployment includes 1,024 NVIDIA Blackwell Ultra GPUs, which provide breakthrough performance and flexibility for complex AI and machine learning workloads. Complementing this compute power, VAST Data contributes high-performance storage systems that ensure fast, reliable, and scalable data access. Furthermore, NEXTDC supplies resilient, sovereign hosting through its world-class Australian data centers, safeguarding critical infrastructure.
AI Authority Trend: IBM and Cisco Plan Network of Large-Scale, Fault-Tolerant Quantum Computers
“AI innovation is moving faster than ever, and Cisco is delivering the critical infrastructure Australia needs to move fast and adopt AI safely and securely. The Cisco Secure AI Factory enables enterprises and governments to harness their data for differentiation, unlocking innovation and competitive advantage, by strengthening sovereign capabilities and building a trustworthy AI ecosystem. This collaboration positions Australia at the forefront of secure, responsible AI,” said Stefan Leitl, Vice President & General Manager, Cisco Australia & New Zealand.
“We are excited to have partnered with Cisco and NVIDIA to accelerate enterprise AI and high-performance compute adoption throughout Asia-Pacific. This 1024 NVIDIA Blackwell Ultra deployment has been architected and deployed alongside Cisco to ensure together we can bring unprecedented value to customers. We look forward to further collaboration with the Cisco team to drive enterprise AI adoption and additional clusters in 2026 and beyond,” said James Manning, Co-Founder and CEO, Sharon AI.
“Secure, sovereign AI infrastructure is a critical resource for enterprises across the Asia-Pacific region. Sharon AI and Cisco are accelerating the next wave of innovation with NVIDIA Blackwell Ultra GPUs to provide Australia with its first Secure AI Factory with NVIDIA,” said Sudarsharn Ramachandran, Country Manager – Enterprise Australia & New Zealand, NVIDIA.
AI Authority Trend: Cisco and G42 Partner for Secure End-to-End AI Infrastructure in UAE
To share your insights, please write to us at info@intentamplify.com
