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Fast Company
14 hours ago
- Business
- Fast Company
How Cisco has been quietly retooling for the AI revolution
Welcome to AI Decoded, Fast Company 's weekly newsletter that breaks down the most important news in the world of AI. You can sign up to receive this newsletter every week here. Exclusive Interview With Cisco's Jeetu Patel Data centers are popping up all over the world to support the quickly growing demand for all kinds of AI apps and services. Cisco, of course, is no stranger to the data center, and it's been working hard over the past few years to make itself a vital part of the AI technology stack. I asked Cisco EVP and chief product officer Jeetu Patel how he sees the current situation in generative AI, and about how his company fits into the picture. The interview has been edited for length and clarity. Can you give me your 30,000-foot view of the transition to generative AI? We're now moving from this mode of chatbots intelligently answering questions for us to us now moving into a mode where agents are conducting tasks and jobs almost fully autonomously on behalf of humans. As that happens, there's going to be an augmentation of the capacity of billions and billions of agents that'll actually get added on over the course of the next few years. But the requirements that you have around low-latency, high-performance, high-energy-efficiency infrastructure, as well as around safety and security so that the user can establish trust with these AI systems, is going to have to be fully reimagined. Can you describe in simple terms how Cisco plays in the AI tech stack? At the very baseline, we build our own silicon and ASICs [application-specific integrated circuits] for the network itself. I think we're the only non-Nvidia silicon provider that is part of Nvidia's reference architecture where our networking is tied with their GPUs and we actually make sure that those work together in a reference architecture that an enterprise can deploy. We then have our own systems, which are the physical boxes for the networks and the servers on the compute side, and the optics and the optical systems that actually can do ultra-long haul data center interconnect, as well as interconnect between clusters. We then provide the safety and security platform that's needed to secure AI as well—we're one of the largest security players in the market. We provide a data platform in Splunk. We're actually building our own bespoke custom models for security and networking. You mentioned latency as a key challenge. How critical is response time for AI applications? If it takes three seconds for an AI voice agent to respond to you, you know it's a robot and you don't want to talk to it. But if you do it within 500 milliseconds, you have a very different kind of behavior from the human. In our user testing, outside of efficacy, latency is one of the most important things. It has to be interruptible and it has to have enough training on EQ [emotional intelligence] and sentiment analysis, so that if you're sounding annoyed, it doesn't say, 'How's the weather today?' How do you handle the security challenges with multiple AI models? Most of these models are putting their own safety and security guardrails in the models. But models can get tricked through jailbreaking techniques. We've built a product that not only does the visibility of what data is flowing through the model and when the model is getting fine-tuned, so you can do a continuous validation. . . . We validate the model within a matter of minutes through an algorithmic red-teaming exercise rather than it taking weeks or months for companies to validate the model. We jailbroke DeepSeek within 48 hours. We can take that model and then create runtime enforcement guardrails for every application developer. The end outcome is that no developer has to rebuild the security stack every time they build an application, and no model provider needs to be responsible for every single way that a model can be jailbroken. So every app developer building on top of DeepSeek will benefit from this pool of knowledge that Cisco knows about how to jailbreak the model and how to protect against that? That's exactly right. We believe that you need a neutral party that provides a common substrate of security for every app developer, every model builder, every agent developer, so that the developer can innovate fearlessly. Are AI companies putting big data centers in the Middle East because they have plenty of power and room to grow, or is it to better service customers in that region? It's literally both. You don't have enough power to fuel all the demand for AI right now. The amount of usage that OpenAI is getting right now is literally like breaking the internet. They came up with $20 a user—they're losing money on $20 a user, from what the industry says. So they added a plan for $200 a user. My guess is they're going to lose money at $200 a user. They have a plan for $2,000 a user. They will lose money for $2,000 a user. Tha''s not a bad thing. It tells you that there is intrinsic demand. The demand for data centers is going to be insatiable for a very long time. As models get more efficient over time, you'll have small models with very large context windows—you might have a million-token context window, very small model, very small data set with a very small footprint to be able to get the inference done. But we're not quite there yet. Is it because of inference costs that they can't make money? What's the big cost driver? Right now it's the usage and the cost of GPUs. It's expensive. But the beauty about this is it's the wrong thing to focus on to get a company to profitability at this stage. What they should focus on is the acquisition of as many users as possible so that they can have the daily workflow fusion of ChatGPT for both consumers and enterprises. Once that happens, they can figure out a way to optimize later. But right now, starting to optimize would be putting cycles in the wrong thing.
Fast Company
a day ago
- Business
- Fast Company
Bringing rehab to your home
BY In healthcare, access is everything. But for millions of patients recovering from orthopedic surgery or cardiac events, traditional rehabilitation may be out of reach. Insurance limitations, lack of time and nearby rehab facilities, and mobility challenges can all prevent patients from accessing care needed during a critical recovery window. ROMTech aims to close that gap with its in-home, data-powered rehabilitation device, PortableConnect. The device draws on predictive analytics and provides clinical oversight as patients rehab from their own home while staying connected to their physician. This approach to redefining accessible healthcare has earned ROMTech a spot on Fast Company's list of the world's Most Innovative Companies. Eliminating barriers PortableConnect is a motorized, stationary, clinician-controlled telerehabilitation therapy system that patients can use at home. It's designed to help those who are recovering from orthopedic leg and hip surgery, as well as cardiac events including heart attacks. The device receives prescribed treatment and protocol modifications, while adaptive pedal technology adjusts the level of therapy to each patient's pain tolerance and range of motion. A built-in, two-way video communication screen allows patients to have live, virtual check-ins with clinicians. Meantime, the device transmits real-time data on vitals such as pain level, joint mobility, blood pressure, and other key cardiac measurements. 'When patients can do therapy on their own schedule, at home, we eliminate many of the barriers that prevent recovery,' says Steve Siegel, ROMTech's president. That's particularly important in cardiac care, where the vast majority of patients don't get the follow-up treatment they need due to accessibility issues. PortableConnect is also making it easier for patients to benefit from a customized approach to rehab. Traditionally, rehab has been reactive, with therapists responding to problems after they arise. ROMTech's platform flips the script: By analyzing more than 120 million data points with the help of AI algorithms, the company's system can now anticipate outcomes and adjust individual treatment plans dynamically. 'Rehabilitation has never been predictive—until now,' says Peter Arn, the company's CEO. 'With AI, we can personalize recovery in ways we couldn't before.' Innovation through feedback At the heart of ROMTech's product development is what Arn calls a 'feedback refinement loop.' Thousands of clinicians contribute to advise on iterations. 'We're methodical about feedback, which has allowed us to come out with the best product on the market,' Arn says. The process wasn't always smooth. He recalls the 'devastating day' when early patient testing revealed how difficult the device initially was to use. The team went back to the drawing board with patients and physicians and emerged with a product that is much more intuitive. 'Now, senior patients routinely use the PortableConnect in their home with no problem,' Arn says. Today, ROMTech has supported more than 121,000 patients across 44 states, and its reach is rapidly growing. In the second quarter of 2024, the number of prescribing physicians jumped 93% over the second quarter of the previous year. During the same period, partnerships with Veterans Administration hospitals nearly tripled, expanding access to patients who often face steep barriers to rehabilitation. 'For ROMTech, innovation means creating a whole new lane in healthcare,' Arn says. And making healthcare accessible to everybody, including our heroes, veterans, and people in remote areas, is at the core of our company. The PortableConnect is the ultimate tool to serve those populations.'
Fast Company
a day ago
- Health
- Fast Company
A revolution in heart disease treatment
Cardiovascular disease affects 315 million people globally and is the world's leading cause of death. For the past quarter-century, it has been standard practice for heart surgeons to treat this by inserting small, mesh tubes called stents to widen or unblock patients' coronary arteries to restore blood flow. Unfortunately, many of those patients experienced additional issues—from blood clots to heart attacks—within years, sometimes months, of the procedure. That's where DynamX, a new vascular technology from Elixir Medical, comes in. Like traditional stents, DynamX is minimally invasive and expands arteries to promote blood flow, but their unique design also enables them to restore arteries' natural defense mechanisms, helping patients avoid life-threatening events or costly and dangerous repeat procedures. The technology's promise to allow cardiac patients to heal more completely and live full, productive lives earned Elixir a spot as one of Fast Company 's 2025 Most Innovative Companies. Novel technology, proven effectiveness Traditional stents solve heart patients' immediate, critical need for restoring arterial blood flow. However, because they don't heal the arteries themselves, about half of patients re-experience an adverse medical event within 10 years, says Motasim Sirhan, Elixir founder and CEO. DynamX is different. After six months, Elixir's implant transforms into an essential part of the artery itself as its mesh tube unlocks, freeing and reinforcing the artery's wall. The implant then gradually restores and adapts to the blood vessel's natural pulsing motion. 'You need to address the disease where it's originating, not the just symptoms of it,' Sirhan says. 'This is the first technology to do that.' In the spring and fall of 2024, Elixir announced the results of a pair of large, international randomized clinical trials that demonstrate DynamX's favorable results. Patients with these implants had 65% fewer serious heart events and 78% fewer issues in the left anterior descending artery—which is critical for heart function as it supplies 50% of blood to the heart—than patients with traditional stent implants. Last year, recognizing DynamX's promise, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted Elixir 'Breakthrough Device Designation' (BDD) on two applications of its DynamX technology: to treat heart artery blockage and serious artery blockages in the leg below the knee. BDD accelerates the review and approval process for novel technologies that may provide more effective treatment of life-threatening diseases and conditions. Patient-focused solutions As they developed DynamX, the company's researchers never lost sight of the seriousness and scale of the problem they were addressing. Many people begin to have cardiac issues in their 50s and 60s, requiring them to undergo multiple procedures. Patients often miss a substantial amount of work and sometimes can't participate fully in family activities. As Sirhan puts it, these hardships—on top of the millions or cardiac deaths annually—are 'not acceptable.' Elixir's innovative solution is the product of a multidisciplinary team of experts in physics, biology, chemistry, engineering, and other fields. The researchers addressed the challenge from different perspectives but with a singular mission: serving patients. 'What was important for us,' Sirhan says, 'was being able to make a difference in patient treatment and to not be fazed by the difficulty of the mission.'
Fast Company
2 days ago
- Business
- Fast Company
20 effective ways to personalize your remote leadership approach
Flexibility is essential to effective leadership, especially in remote and hybrid work environments. But flexibility doesn't mean being hands-off or vague—it means knowing your people well enough to lead them intentionally, based on who they are and how they thrive. To that end, 20 Fast Company Executive Board members offer advice on how today's managers can adapt their leadership approach to meet the needs of remote team members. From customizing communication styles to co-creating expectations, these strategies offer practical guidance for leading with empathy, clarity, and results. 1. BE INTENTIONALLY FLEXIBLE, BUT DON'T OVER-FLEX. Be intentionally flexible and spend time getting to know your team. Anchor yourself by sharing what matters to you, the company, and each team member. Focus on building deeper relationships by sharing personal and professional passions. Adapt meaningfully but avoid over-flexing to maintain your effectiveness for your team. A leader who twists themselves into a knot is of little help to others. – Karl Giuseffi, Talent Plus Inc. Leaders need to embrace the fact that people learn and work differently. That might mean working at midnight or all day on Saturday. Apart from attending meetings and other obligations during traditional work hours, leaders should celebrate creative approaches to work as long as the outcomes are achieved. – John William Patton, ProVention Health Foundation 3. KNOW EVERYONE'S COMMUNICATION STYLE AND DEFINE EXPECTATIONS. Managers who embrace flexibility and personalization will be able to modify their leadership approach for remote employees. This process entails knowing every team member's communication style, clearly defining expectations, and giving constant support. The key to making remote workers feel appreciated and involved is having regular check-ins and creating a trusting and autonomous workplace. – Christena Garduno, Media Culture 4. UNDERSTAND STRENGTHS AND MOTIVATIONS. Remote leadership starts with understanding each team member's strengths, personality, and needs and then setting clear expectations for outcomes. Great managers take the time to understand what motivates people. Flexibility in communication, providing the right support and clear accountability standards, and building trust along the way create a motivated and cohesive team. – Marija Zivanovic-Smith, IEX 5. USE 'PERSONAL USER MANUALS' TO GUIDE LEADERSHIP. We ask each new team member to create a personal 'user manual' that lays out their working preferences, unique strengths, and how to build trust with them. These are shared in team meetings and stored where we can all reference them. This helps keep individual preferences top of mind. – Shani Harmon, Stop Meeting Like This 6. CO-CREATE AGREEMENTS BASED ON WHAT WORKS. Ask each person about the best remote work relationships and virtual teams they've experienced. Use those insights as a springboard to share what you value, so you can co-create agreements on communication, response time, feedback, and staying connected. Agree to check in at least quarterly to revisit what's working and what might need adjusting. – Bonnie Davis, HuWork 7. MAKE IT REAL BY LEADING WITH CURIOSITY AND INTENT. It's all about showing up and meaning it. Relationships start with shared intent. They develop through shared interest, and then normalize through interaction and adaptation through interrogation. Show others you want to know more by engaging and asking questions. Meaningful adaptation results when you apply what you feel, observe, and learn in this journey. Make it real. – Maury Giles, Material 8. STAY ANCHORED IN TRUTH BUT BE OPEN TO OTHER PERSPECTIVES. As a company that has been remote by design for 20-plus years, we've learned this: Anchor your leadership in core truths that don't change, but stay flexible where it counts. One team member prefers talking by phone instead of Zoom? No problem. When you know where you can flex, you can meet people where they are and lead in a way that drives results and builds trust. – Sarah Buckler, Tangible 9. APPLY THE SITUATIONAL LEADERSHIP MODEL TO REMOTE WORK. Get familiar with a framework that has been around for decades: the 'Situational Leadership Model.' This can be invaluable for both in-person and remote relationships. SLM focuses on understanding each individual's skill and motivation for the task at hand, and aligning your leadership style, as the manager, to the situation. – Amy Radin, 10. TAILOR COMMUNICATION TO GEOGRAPHY AND INDIVIDUAL NEEDS. Effective remote leadership means tailoring your approach by listening to each team member and understanding their unique motivations, work environment, and communication style. Geography and workspace impact performance more than you think, and consistent, personalized communication opens doors and strengthens connections. – Evan Nierman, Red Banyan 11. BUILD COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES AROUND WHAT DRIVES AND DRAINS. Learn what drives your remote staff and what drains them, and build out communication strategies that reflect this information. Doing so shows an understanding of each team member and allows you to meet your workforce where they are today. – Caitlin MacGregor, Plum 12. USE EMPATHY AND AUTONOMY TO MEET PEOPLE WHERE THEY ARE. Leading on job sites and in boardrooms taught me that leadership isn't one-size-fits-all, especially in the era of remote work. Empathy and adaptability are essential to relate to people's certain rhythms and needs. This is where autonomy comes in by creating ways for them to show up, even if over Zoom. What matters most is empowering people to deliver their best, wherever they are. – Larry Brinker Jr., BRINKER 13. TRUST YOUR TEAM AND COMMUNICATE INTENTIONALLY. Leading a remote workforce requires a shift toward more intentional communication. That includes regular 1:1 check-ins, setting clear written expectations, and understanding each individual's unique work style. Prioritizing the human element will strengthen your team. Trust your employees to work independently and give them space and freedom to complete tasks without micromanaging. – Jon Garrison, Registered Agents Inc. 14. RECOGNIZE WHEN REMOTE WORK ISN'T THE RIGHT FIT. When I sent my team home to work during COVID, one worker's performance dropped dramatically. After he and I tried several approaches, we realized that he simply wasn't suited to remote work. His performance improved almost overnight when he returned to the office! The leadership lesson: Remote work isn't suited to everyone, so leaders should be open to requiring office-based work when needed. – Christina Robbins, Digitech Systems 15. USE FEEDBACK TO ALIGN AND SUPPORT INDIVIDUAL WORK STYLES. Good leadership isn't static. What works for one person might miss the mark for someone else. We treat feedback like infrastructure. It keeps us aligned, opens up space for autonomy, and helps each team member work in a way that actually works for them. – Alex Seaman, 16. FOCUS ON EQ AND ONE-ON-ONE CONNECTIONS TO UNDERSTAND NEEDS. Develop emotional intelligence and individualize their approach based on each team member's unique working style, communication preferences, and personal circumstances. Building meaningful one-on-one connections through regular virtual check-ins allows leaders to better understand each remote employee's needs, preferences, strengths, and challenges. – Britton Bloch, Navy Federal Credit Union 17. LET TEAM MEMBERS DRIVE 1:1S AND ACKNOWLEDGE REAL-LIFE CONSTRAINTS. We have been fully remote for more than six years. I get to know my team's work habits, schedules, preferences, and so on; for example, I don't schedule 1:1s during kid pickup windows or schedule travel on holidays. I ensure they are in control of our 1:1 agenda. Part of our 1:1 conversations includes the hurdles they are facing and what they need from me. I need them to know their success is my job. – Mack McKelvey, SalientMG 18. LEAD WITH TRUST, RESPONSIBILITY, AND BALANCED CHALLENGE. I've been working remotely since 2012, long before it was mainstream. Done right, it reduces drama and boosts output. I lead my team like I was once led: with trust, responsibility, and just enough challenge to grow but never to burn out. More companies should lean into it. – Al Sefati, Clarity Digital, LLC 19. PRIORITIZE RESULTS OVER METHODS. Make it clear that results matter more than methods. Let your team know they can approach tasks in their own way, as long as the work is done well and on time. This builds trust and lets remote team members work in the way that suits them best. – Travis Schreiber,
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Precision Neuroscience Named to Fast Company's World Changing Ideas and Inc.'s Best Workplaces Lists
Awards recognize innovation in healthcare technology and excellence in workplace culture NEW YORK, June 17, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Precision Neuroscience Corporation (Precision), a leader in brain–computer interface (BCI) technology, has been named to two prestigious lists: Fast Company's World Changing Ideas and Inc.'s 2025 Best Workplaces. Fast Company recognized Precision for its Layer 7 Cortical Interface, a high-resolution electrode array that forms the core of its BCI system. The device is designed to help people with paralysis caused by conditions such as stroke, spinal cord injury, and ALS. Recently cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Layer 7 Cortical Interface can record, monitor, and stimulate electrical activity on the brain's surface. It is designed to be implanted using a minimally invasive technique and to avoid damage to brain tissue, instead conforming gently to the surface of the brain. When used as part of Precision's full BCI system, it will enable users to control digital devices—such as computers and smartphones—using only their thoughts. The Fast Company list honors companies developing bold, scalable solutions to major global challenges. A panel of editors and reporters evaluated more than 1,500 entries based on impact and potential to improve society. 'The World Changing Ideas Awards have always been about showcasing the art of the possible,' Fast Company's editor-in-chief, Brendan Vaughan, said. 'We're proud to recognize the organizations and leaders that are making meaningful progress on the biggest issues of our time.' Inc.'s 2025 Best Workplaces list highlights companies with outstanding workplace culture. The selection process included an audit of benefits and an employee survey by Quantum Workplace, evaluating management, perks, professional growth, and overall satisfaction. Michael Mager, Precision's co-founder and CEO, said, "We're proud to be recognized both for the impact of our technology and the culture we're building. In the past year, we've advanced our clinical work—testing our device in more than 40 patients to date—received our first FDA clearance, and grown our team, adding extraordinary talent across science, engineering, and operations. Our mission is ambitious—and it's made possible by the people here who are determined to bring this life-changing technology to those who need it." ABOUT PRECISIONPrecision Neuroscience is working to provide breakthrough treatments for the millions of people worldwide suffering from neurological illnesses. The company is building the only brain–computer interface designed to be minimally invasive, safely removable, and capable of processing large amounts of data. To learn more about how Precision is connecting human intelligence and artificial intelligence, visit Contact:media@ ABOUT FAST COMPANYFast Company is the only media brand fully dedicated to the vital intersection of business, innovation, and design, engaging the most influential leaders, companies, and thinkers on the future of business. Headquartered in New York City, Fast Company is published by Mansueto Ventures LLC, along with our sister publication Inc., and can be found online at ABOUT is the leading media brand and playbook for the entrepreneurs and business leaders shaping our future. Through its journalism, Inc. aims to inform, educate, and elevate the profile of its community: the risk-takers, the innovators, and the ultra-driven go-getters who are creating the future of business. Inc. is published by Mansueto Ventures LLC, along with fellow leading business publication Fast Company. For more information, visit
