Open Source Networking in the AI Era: We had the pleasure of interviewing Vishal Shukla in the latest episode of Silicon Valley Tech Talks. Vishal is Co-Founder and CEO at Aviz Networks, a promising startup in Silicon Valley in the Networking and AI space. In this discussion, Vishal provided a comprehensive overview of how AI is reshaping the networking landscape, highlighting the need for new approaches to networking.

The highlights of the discussion are as follows:

Vishal explains that Aviz Networks is addressing the challenges of networking in the AI era, where rapid compute growth, rising bandwidth demands, and shorter deployment cycles require a new approach. Unlike incumbents like Cisco or Arista that offer vertically integrated stacks, Aviz enables open, multi-vendor, cost-efficient networking with customer control over hardware and operations.

He emphasizes the rise of open-source networking (SONiC), initially developed by Microsoft, which has gained traction because it provides customers with choice, control, and cost savings, unlike earlier “open networking” attempts.

On AI co-pilots in networking, Vishal notes that AI will be adopted gradually, starting with low-risk, read-only tasks like compliance reporting before progressing toward autonomous networks. Trust, not just technology, is the key barrier, and full adoption is still 3–5 years away. Future trends include AI becoming table stakes for network operations, faster hardware upgrade cycles driven by AI-generated content, and the need for executives to rethink network strategy without budget spikes.

For entrepreneurs, Vishal advises leveraging AI to prototype quickly, iterate fast, pivot when necessary, and focus on solving real customer problems rather than sticking rigidly to initial ideas.