Cisco is investing in Paris-based software startup 6WIND. The investment, announced Monday, is part of Cisco's previously announced $100 million package directed at French tech startups, further signaling outgoing CEO John Chambers’ interest in developing France as a farm team for future acquisitions.

Financial terms of Cisco's investment and 6WIND's valuation were undisclosed. A 6WIND spokeswoman declined to comment further when contacted by SDxCentral.

The investment comes as Chambers and his successor Chuck Robbins meet with French President François Hollande in Paris this week. Chambers has touted France's growing tech industry as the next big thing, noting in a recent interview with Fortune that France has more startups than any country aside from the U.S.

For his part, Hollande has shown an eagerness to get personally involved with foreign investment in France's tech industry, personally brokering the final details of Nokia's deal to acquire Alcatel-Lucent in April.

6WIND makes software for enhancing the performance of applications on commodity processors, a task that could get a lot of attention as network functions virtualization (NFV) comes to fruition.

Cisco's venture capital investing arm has often served as a gateway to acquisitions, raising the possibility that the networking giant is eyeing an acquisition of 6WIND. Last week, Cisco said it would buy security startup OpenDNS for $635 million, after investing in that company's Series C round in 2014.

Image via Sky.com/20th Century Fox.