Cisco CEO's bold Splunk remarks on China, AI 'lead' and $4bn ARR

From why Cisco’s acquisition of Splunk will help put it at the forefront of AI to whether China needs to approve the $28bn deal, here are six big remarks from CEO Chuck Robbins.

Cisco CEO's bold Splunk remarks on China, AI 'lead' and $4bn ARR

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CEO Chuck Robbins is bullish about the largest acquisition in Cisco's nearly 40-year history with the acquisition of Splunk for a whopping $28bn. Robbins expects the deal to be closed on schedule, within 12 months, without any significant regulatory hurdles.

"Look, there's not any overlap in our portfolios. So we're not consolidating any industries," said Robbins during an investor conference call yesterday regarding the Splunk deal.

Robbins explained when he expects product integration will begin, how Cisco will close the blockbuster deal in a timely fashion, Splunk's ability to leverage Cisco's global channel ecosystem of partners, and why exactly he pulled the trigger on his company's biggest purchase ever.

"I've always said that we don't have a size limitation on how we think about M&A," he said. "We haven't done a big deal because we had never gained conviction on a big deal."

Cisco's CEO spoke to investors and the media alongside Splunk CEO Gary Steele, who will join Cisco's leadership team and report directly to Robbins when the deal closes. Steele took over as president and CEO in April 2022 during a time of transition at the security and observability company.

Steele said Cisco will bring a "broad channel reach" to Splunk. "Our channel program, while we've made tremendous progress, we're still relatively immature. And connecting to the Cisco channel, we can deliver just a tremendous opportunity to go drive business in many regions and with a broader customer set," he said. "I couldn't be more excited about the go-to-market opportunities."

From why the deal puts Cisco at the forefront of artificial intelligence to whether China needs to approve the $28bn acquisition, here are Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins' six boldest remarks that customers, investors and channel partners should know about.