Cisco Gives 27-Year-Old Unlimited AI Tokens to Fix Legacy Code
Cisco has put a 27-year-old former founder in charge of reworking its legacy code with AI and unlimited tokens. 70 percent of products are to be renewed by the end of 2027.
Cisco is betting on artificial intelligence to modernize its aging software. The networking giant has tasked a 27-year-old former startup founder with overhauling legacy code using AI, and he has reportedly been given unlimited AI tokens to do it.
The target is ambitious: by the end of 2027, 70 percent of Cisco's products are to be renewed. That leaves little more than a year, given today's date, for a portfolio that has grown over decades.
Why it matters
Legacy code is a familiar burden for long-established technology companies. Old code bases slow down new features, make maintenance costlier and can complicate security updates. Handing the job to AI tools, with no cap on token usage, signals that Cisco sees automated code analysis and rewriting as a way to move faster than a purely manual effort would allow.
The decision to give the task to a young former founder rather than a traditional engineering veteran is also notable. It suggests the company wants startup-style speed applied to a very large, established product range.
What remains open
The available information does not say which products come first, which AI models are used, or how the results will be reviewed and tested before release. Those details will determine whether the 70 percent goal is realistic. Rewriting code with AI can save time, but quality control and compatibility with existing customer installations remain decisive for network and security products.
Cisco has set a clear deadline, and progress against it will be the measure of whether the approach works.
Apps worth a look
SUMO: the number puzzleTap the right tiles, add them up, hit the target. Easy to learn, hard to master. Free, for all ages.
Dialo: learn languages by speakingTalk to an AI conversation partner; every sentence comes back corrected and explained in your language. 9 languages, A1 to C2.
ediviewer: read EDI files like documentsOpen EDIFACT and X12 messages, see every segment explained, convert to JSON/XML, export PDF and Excel. Runs locally, no upload.
More from this day
See all →
Evertrue Capital launches $17M pre-seed fund for European AI
Oman's Mamun raises $3m to support Gulf-Asia trade with AI
Tencent Cloud unveils MAGIC AI, WAND and TCE AI Suite in Singapore
