The $700 billion AI capex 'doesn't bother me at all', says former Cisco Systems CEO John Chambers
Watch on YouTube ↗  |  February 17, 2026 at 12:14 UTC  |  7:27  |  CNBC
Speakers
John Chambers — Former CEO of Cisco Systems / CEO of JC2 Ventures

Summary

  • AI is not a bubble; it is a revolution moving at 5x the speed of the internet with 3x the impact.
  • Enterprise productivity is already at 2.7% and expected to double to 5% due to AI adoption.
  • The $700 billion AI capex spend is justified and we are only in the early stages of consumption.
  • A "bell-shaped curve" disruption is coming: companies in the middle (growing 30-40%) are unsafe; market share will shift violently to the extreme winners.
Trade Ideas
Ticker Direction Speaker Thesis Time
AMD /AVGO /NVDA
LONG John Chambers
Former CEO of Cisco Systems / CEO of JC2 Ventures 		"The plays I really like now are the infrastructure players... AMD up 83%, Broadcom up 40%, NVIDIA up 31%." Despite fears of overspending ($700B capex), the build-out is accelerating, not slowing. These companies are the "arms dealers" for a revolution that is moving 5x faster than the internet era. The capex is necessary infrastructure, not wasted capital. LONG. Chambers explicitly names these three as the current winners he likes. A major ecosystem player "tripping" could cause a temporary market pullback/correction. 4:24
BE
LONG John Chambers
Former CEO of Cisco Systems / CEO of JC2 Ventures 		"You have infrastructure players like Bloom Energy... that provide energy at the edge. Starting to be where the majority of growth is going to be." AI data centers have an insatiable demand for power that traditional grids cannot easily meet. "Energy at the edge" (on-site power generation) is the critical bottleneck solution, positioning providers like Bloom for outsized growth compared to traditional utilities. LONG. Explicitly highlighted as a high-growth infrastructure play. Regulatory changes in energy or volatility in the alternative energy sector. 1:23
MSFT
LONG John Chambers
Former CEO of Cisco Systems / CEO of JC2 Ventures 		"Just think about Microsoft. When they moved with Open AI they were way ahead of Google... Fast forward two years later, their stock is up." In a market defined by "winners and losers," Microsoft is the prime example of a winner that successfully disrupted itself to lead the new cycle. They exemplify the "right side" of the bell curve. LONG. Used as the benchmark for successful AI execution. Competition from Google/Meta narrowing the lead. 7:14
COMPANIES
AVOID John Chambers
Former CEO of Cisco Systems / CEO of JC2 Ventures 		"That bell shaped curve... you're no longer going to be safe in the middle. In fact, you could be in trouble in the middle if you're only growing 30 or 40%." The AI revolution will hollow out the middle class of corporations. Capital and market share will flow to the extreme innovators (Mag-7 leaders) or agile disruptors. Companies with average growth that fail to adopt AI aggressively will be the "train wrecks." AVOID. Do not hold generic "average" growth companies; focus on the tails of the curve. Broad market rally lifts all boats temporarily (though Chambers explicitly says this "rising tide" won't raise all boats). 0:29