Cisco and Supermicro Team Up to Fuel AI Data Center Boom

Cisco and Supermicro are teaming up to offer AI infrastructure solutions in data centers. This partnership is part of Cisco's Secure AI Factory, which combines AI infrastructure with full-stack security. The solution will include rack-to-fabric liquid cooling, featuring Cisco's liquid-cooled AI networking systems alongside Supermicro's liquid-cooled servers.

Cisco's shares have risen 60% in the last year due to increasing demand for its networking and AI infrastructure hardware. However, the stock is currently trading at a forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 21.4, which is just over the P/E of the broader S&P 500 Index.

Supermicro's shares have been hit by regulatory and legal issues, including an ongoing investigation related to allegations of smuggling Nvidia GPUs into China. The company has denied wrongdoing but is cooperating with authorities. Despite strong demand for its products, Supermicro's revenues were down 15% over the last year.