Cisco’s Vijoy Pandey: The New Internet, AI Agents, and Quantum Networks

Emerging technologies like agentic AI and quantum networking represent the next major paradigm shifts in computing infrastructure. Outshift, Cisco’s internal incubation engine, navigates these frontiers by applying a risk-based framework that balances technological, market, and platform challenges. The "Internet of Agents" establishes an open, interoperable standard for specialized AI agents to discover, compose, and execute complex business tasks, moving beyond deterministic workflows toward autonomous collaboration. Simultaneously, quantum networking utilizes entanglement to enable distributed quantum computing, overcoming classical speed-of-light limitations. Recent breakthroughs, including room-temperature photon entanglement chips compatible with existing telecom fiber, facilitate secure, eavesdropper-proof communication and decision coordination. These advancements signal a transition from theoretical research to practical, scalable systems, fundamentally reshaping how enterprises handle data, security, and computational scale in the coming decade.