Tech

'We’ve got to become a start-up nation again,' says former Cisco CEO

Key Points
  • Cisco's former CEO says that while tax reform has created a friendlier environment for start-ups, regulations need to be pared down in order for the U.S. to stay competitive.
  • John Chambers tells CNBC the rate of start-up creation is not high enough.
'We’ve got to become a start-up nation again,' says former Cisco CEO
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'We’ve got to become a start-up nation again,' says former Cisco CEO

Although the tax reform has created a friendlier environment for start-ups, regulations need to be pared down in order for the U.S. to stay competitive, said John Chambers, former Cisco CEO.

“I give good marks to Congress and the administration in terms of beginning to get a better tax environment, but we’ve got to move faster on regulations,” Chambers said on CNBC’s Squawk Alley. “We’ve got to become a start-up nation again.”

Although the money for tech investment is there, Chambers said, the rate of start-up creation is not high enough at 200 for the year. “We need 300 to 400, maybe even 500, to generate the jobs we need in the future,” he said.

The landscape is ripe for tech start-ups, according to Chambers, as traditional companies will need to adapt. “If they don’t reinvent themselves over the next five years, they will get left behind,” he said. “So, I think every boardroom in the U.S. should be looking at who are the disruptors.”