John Chambers

CEO

JC2 Ventures & Prior Cisco

Artificial Intelligence

Cybersecurity

Cloud & Infrastructure

About Me

John Chambers is founder and CEO of JC2 Ventures, where he focuses on helping startups from around the world build and scale. He invests in companies that are leading market transitions, such as ASAPP, Aspire Food Group, Balbix, Bloom Energy, Dedrone, Safe Security, OpenGov, Pindrop, Privoro, Quantum Metric, ParkourSC, Rubrik, SparkCognition, Sprinklr, and Uniphore. He serves on the Board of Directors for Bloom Energy, OpenGov, Pindrop, and Uniphore. Prior to founding JC2 Ventures in 2018, Chambers spent 25+ years with Cisco, serving as CEO, Chairman and Executive Chairman. He currently holds the title of Chairman Emeritus of Cisco. Chambers is the author of Connecting the Dots: Lessons for Leadership in a Startup World, where he shares lessons for lasting success in the Digital Age. Chambers is the Chairman of the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) and the Global Ambassador of the French Tech under French President Emmanuel Macron.

Hear My Insights

Perspectives on Investment and the Innovation Landscape

Europe’s Next Unicorns: Unveiling Entrepreneurial Lessons for Success

We hear from three successful entrepreneurs charting an impressive growth path. They each pinpoint the milestones and share the lessons learned in their entrepreneurial path. What growth strategies have allowed them to navigate and thrive in Europe’s complex markets? How have recent economic downturns or tech revolutions, such as the rise of AI, changed their strategies? What can burgeoning European entrepreneurs learn from these trailblazers to carve their own success stories?

Part 1: Preparing Your Company for the AI Revolution

AI keeps making waves in media and in venture capital as a future-defining technology, but what are the limits of AI’s market growth? What is at stake for investors? Will the bubble burst? What does it mean for the "decade of AI"? How is this technology truly going to add value to companies, and in what time horizon?

Founders Discussions – Integrating AI Into Your Business Strategy, Even If You’re Not AI Native

AI is here to stay. As a startup founder, it’s critical to anticipate how this technology will disrupt your organization, your workforce, your industry, and even you as a leader. In this discussion, John Chambers will explain how you can make AI core to your startup’s business strategy, even if you’re not an AI native company – and why it will be critical to do so, especially as funding is sparse and VCs are not adding new logos. Come with questions for a back and forth discussion with Cisco Executive Chairman and CEO-turned VC, John Chambers.