(L–R) James Manning (Co-Founder & CEO, Sharon AI), Chuck Robbins (Chair & CEO, Cisco), and Stefan Leitl (VP & General Manager, Cisco Australia & New Zealand) in Sydney.
Cisco and SharonAI Holdings Inc. have launched Australia’s first Cisco Secure AI Factory in partnership with NVIDIA. The initiative aims to strengthen the country’s sovereign AI capabilities. It also ensures that data and AI processing stay within Australia.
The launch supports Australia’s National AI Plan. It gives enterprises and government agencies secure, high-performance infrastructure for AI workloads. As demand for artificial intelligence accelerates, the partners are positioning the platform as a foundation for responsible and scalable adoption.
Built for Performance and Sovereignty
At the core of the deployment are Cisco UCS servers. Cisco has integrated its security and networking portfolio to support high-intensity AI operations. Nexus Hyperfabric operates within the Nexus One management plane to streamline control and visibility.
The platform runs on 1,024 NVIDIA Blackwell Ultra GPUs. These processors deliver advanced performance for complex AI and machine learning tasks. As a result, customers can train and deploy models at scale.
VAST Data provides high-speed, scalable storage systems. Meanwhile, NEXTDC hosts the infrastructure in its Australian data centers. This setup keeps critical workloads within national borders and strengthens data sovereignty.
Sharon AI will deliver industry-specific AI solutions. In addition, customers can access sandbox environments to test proof-of-concept applications before full deployment.
Expanding AI Adoption Across Asia-Pacific
Stefan Leitl, Vice President and General Manager of Cisco Australia and New Zealand, said AI innovation is moving quickly. He noted that the Secure AI Factory gives organizations the infrastructure they need to adopt AI safely while unlocking competitive advantage.
James Manning, Co-Founder and CEO of Sharon AI, said the company architected and deployed the 1,024 GPU cluster alongside Cisco. He added that Sharon AI plans to roll out additional clusters in 2026 and beyond to meet rising enterprise demand.
Sudarsharn Ramachandran, Country Manager for Enterprise Australia and New Zealand at NVIDIA, said secure and sovereign AI infrastructure now plays a critical role for enterprises. He emphasized that this collaboration positions Australia at the forefront of responsible AI development.
Together, the partners aim to accelerate enterprise AI adoption. By combining compute power, storage, and security in one integrated platform, they are building a secure foundation for Australia’s AI-driven economy.
