SYDNEY: Cisco and SharonAI Holdings on Feb. 23 announced the launch of what they described as Australia’s first Cisco Secure AI Factory with NVIDIA, a deployment designed to provide in-country artificial intelligence computing for enterprises and government customers. The companies said the system keeps AI data processing within Australia, positioning the build as sovereign infrastructure. The launch was unveiled in Sydney, with Cisco and Sharon AI describing the project as a step toward expanding secure, high-performance AI capacity locally.
The companies said the AI factory is powered by 1,024 NVIDIA Blackwell Ultra graphics processing units and integrates Cisco compute and networking. Cisco said the build uses Cisco UCS servers and Cisco Nexus Hyperfabric, combining infrastructure and security capabilities intended for large-scale AI workloads. Sharon AI said it will offer a range of solutions tailored to customer needs and industries, and that customers will also have access to a sandbox environment for proof-of-concept testing.
Cisco and Sharon AI linked the launch to Australia’s National AI Plan, saying the platform is intended to support responsible AI development and adoption. The partners characterized the project as national digital infrastructure, focused on high security standards and data sovereignty. The announcement described the system as scalable, aimed at enabling organizations to develop and run advanced AI applications while maintaining controls around where data is stored and processed.
Technology stack and hosting
Industry reporting on the deployment said the infrastructure is hosted at NextDC’s S3 data centre in Sydney and uses VAST Data storage systems to support high-throughput AI workloads. The report said the stack combines Cisco UCS servers, security and networking technologies, and Nexus Hyperfabric under Cisco’s Nexus management framework. The companies’ announcement in Sydney emphasized secure operations alongside performance, framing the factory as a packaged environment for building and operating AI services on Australian soil.
Cisco describes the Secure AI Factory with NVIDIA as a modular approach that brings together AI infrastructure with security and operational tooling in repeatable building blocks. Sharon AI, which describes itself as an Australian neocloud provider, said it will make the environment available to customers seeking to train, fine-tune, and run AI models with data residency requirements. The partners also positioned the offering as relevant to organizations that need a controlled environment for experimentation before production deployment.
Companies and disclosures
Cisco and Sharon AI disclosed the launch in public materials that identified the partners and the core components of the system, including the GPU count and Cisco infrastructure elements. SharonAI Holdings referenced the announcement in a U.S. regulatory disclosure, linking it to a press release describing the deployment and the companies’ partnership with NVIDIA. The companies did not provide pricing details in the announcement, instead focusing on the scope of the build and the sovereign processing emphasis.
At the Sydney launch, Cisco Chair and Chief Executive Chuck Robbins appeared alongside Sharon AI Co-Founder and Chief Executive James Manning and Cisco Australia and New Zealand Vice President and General Manager Stefan Leitl, according to Cisco’s published materials. Cisco trades as CSCO and SharonAI Holdings trades as SHAZ. The companies said the deployment is intended to accelerate access to secure, high-performance AI computing in Australia, while keeping AI data processing in-country. – By Content Syndication Services.