Fireside Chat with John Chambers: Navigating the AI Age and the Future of Innovation
Join ONUG and AI Networking Summit Co-founder and Co-chair Nick Lippis for an unfiltered, deeply insightful fireside chat with legendary Cisco CEO and JC2 Ventures founder, John Chambers — a tech visionary known for accurately predicting market transitions and building one of the most valuable companies in the world.
This candid discussion will explore how artificial intelligence, and a new wave of emerging technologies, are reshaping business, society, and the global innovation economy. From Chambers’ bold take on whether we’re headed into an AI bubble—or just scratching the surface—to who’s leading the AI race and how companies can truly transform with it, this session delivers a front-row seat to history in the making.
Expect thought-provoking insights on:
- The true scale and timing of AI’s global impact
- What startups and enterprises are getting right—and wrong—about AI adoption
- Chambers’ personal playbook for navigating growth, downturns, and crisis
- Where he’s placing bets in 2025 and beyond—and why
- The evolving IPO, M&A, and funding landscape
- U.S.-China tech tensions and global innovation power shifts
- How to build enduring companies with the right leaders, culture, and speed of execution
Whether you’re a technologist, entrepreneur, investor, or executive navigating the AI revolution, this is the must-attend conversation of the Summit. Get inspired and informed. Don’t miss your chance to hear from one of the most influential technology leaders of our time.
John Chambers is the founder and CEO of JC2 Ventures. In his role, Chambers focuses on helping disruptive startups from around the world build and scale, while also promoting the broader development of startup nations and a startup world. He invests in companies across categories and geographies that are leading market transitions, such as AMD Pensando, ASAPP, Aspire Food Group, Balbix, BigSpring, Bloom Energy, Dedrone, Denim, Lilac, Nile, OpenGov, Parkour SC, Pindrop, Privoro, Quantum Metric, Rubrik, Safe Security, SparkCognition, Sprinklr, Uniphore, and Virsec. He serves on the Board of Directors for Bloom Energy, OpenGov, Pindrop, Quantum Metric, Sprinklr, and Uniphore.
In addition to investing in and mentoring startups, Chambers is focused on promoting entrepreneurship, gender equality, and accelerating overall new business creation around the world, as he believes that startups will be the core driver of economic growth and job creation in the Digital Age. He was appointed Global Ambassador of the French Tech by President Emmanuel Macron of France. Chambers is also the Chairman of the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF). He will work closely with business and government leaders in France, India and the U.S. to create meaningful opportunities that have the power to change the lives of citizens.
Prior to founding JC2 Ventures in January 2018, Chambers served as CEO, Chairman and Executive Chairman at Cisco Systems. During his 25+ years at Cisco, he helped grow the company from $70 million when he joined in 1991, to $1.2 billion when he became CEO in 1995, to $47 billion when he stepped down as CEO in 2015. As Executive Chairman, a position Chambers held until December 2017, he led the Board of Directors and provided counsel to the CEO and leadership team on strategy, digital transformation and strategic partnerships. John also spearheaded the creation and development of Cisco’s country digitization program, where he partnered with government leaders across the world to harness the power of technology to create economic opportunities.
Nick Lippis is an authority on corporate computer networking. He has designed some for the largest computer networks in the world. He has advised many Global 2000 firms on network strategy, architecture, equipment, services and implementation including Hughes Aerospace, Barclays Bank, Kaiser Permanente, Eastman Kodak Company, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), Liberty Mutual, Schering-Plough, Sprint, WorldCom, Cisco Systems, Nortel Networks and a wide range of other equipment suppliers and service providers.
Mr. Lippis is uniquely positioned to comment, analyze and observe computer networking industry trends and developments.
