AT&T and Cisco today announced a significant step forward in the evolution of AI‑driven IoT, combining intelligent networking, edge AI compute, and zero‑trust security to enable real‑time decision‑making across distributed, mission‑critical environments with NVIDIA AI infrastructure.
At the center of the solution is AT&T’s dedicated IoT core alongside Cisco’s Mobility Services Platform, built to support localized traffic breakout, deterministic performance, and zero trust security for regulated and critical use cases. The Cisco AI Grid with NVIDIA is designed to bring on‑demand AI inference closer to where data is generated. Built for developers and enterprises deploying AI in real‑world environments, it provides a highly secure, end-to-end pathway from edge devices across the AT&T network, and into NVIDIA accelerated compute. This network-driven approach reduces complexity, improves performance, and provides the operational scale required to move edge AI from pilots into full production.
"Delivering scalable, highly secure AI services to meet enterprise and developer needs is pivotal to our IoT connectivity strategy. By combining AT&T’s business‑grade connectivity, localized AI compute, and zero‑trust security with Cisco’s AI Grid with NVIDIA infrastructure and Cisco’s Mobility Services Platform, we’re bringing real‑time AI inference closer to where data is generated—accelerating digital transformation and unlocking new business opportunities,” said Shawn Hakl, SVP of Product, AT&T Business.
The architecture supports demanding use cases such as video security, transportation systems, manufacturing environments, and industrial automation. Private, policy‑enforced pathways that extend zero‑trust principles from the device, through the AT&T network edge, and into the cloud, protecting customer dashboards, device connections, and application data.
Powered by AT&T’s highly secure global IoT connectivity, the collaboration also brings Cisco’s AI capabilities into the AT&T network to enable intelligent automation and actionable insights across millions of connected devices at scale, powered by NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell Server Edition GPUs.
“Cisco is proud to work with AT&T to spearhead the shift toward physical AI,” said Masum Mir, SVP and GM, Provider Mobility, Cisco. “Enabled through Cisco’s Mobility Services Platform and extended with Cisco’s AI Grid with NVIDIA, AT&T can bring real-time AI inference closer to where data is generated—unlocking new opportunities while enabling enterprises, AI inferencing Independent Software Vendors, and developers to innovate at the network edge.”
NVIDIA strengthens this ecosystem through its Inception Program, enabling accelerated AI inference and giving developers the tools needed to operationalize AI at the network edge. With NVIDIA’s technology integrated into the solution stack, enterprises can more easily deploy advanced models across distributed IoT environments.
“Distributed computing is the next frontier for AI infrastructure, and telecommunications networks sit at the heart of that buildout,” said Chris Penrose, Global VP, Business Development, Telco at NVIDIA. “By integrating NVIDIA AI infrastructure with AT&T’s highly secure IoT connectivity and Cisco’s networking, we’re giving app providers the tools to deliver real‑time intelligence at the edge—keeping data local, secure, and under customer control while enabling scalable AI across millions of connected devices. IoT is no longer just the Internet of Things; it’s becoming the Internet of Intelligent Things, and this collaboration is how developers operationalize that vision.”
The teams recently completed a successful public-safety use case demonstration at AT&T Discovery District in Dallas, showcasing Linker Vision’s Physical AI and Reasoning AI Platform powered by Cisco’s pilot platform, NVIDIA GPUs, and AT&T Video Intelligence.
The solution is gaining momentum as it advances into commercial and industrial use cases, including a pilot with TanMar Companies at its Eunice, Louisiana facility to enhance site security and operational visibility. TanMar is employing edge AI–powered video intelligence for license plate recognition, perimeter intrusion detection, and restricted area monitoring, enabling near real-time insights at the network edge while keeping sensitive data highly secure. The deployment demonstrates how distributed industrial sites can use network-driven AI to improve safety and situational awareness across geographically dispersed facilities.
Together, AT&T, Cisco, and NVIDIA are enabling a new class of highly secure, network-driven edge AI to help enterprises and public-sector organizations turn data into action without sacrificing performance, control, and scale.
To learn more, go to att.com/aipowered.
Read more AT&T Business news
