Zscaler partners with Bharti Airtel to launch AI & cyber threat research center
American cloud security company Zscaler, Inc., in partnership with India’s telecom provider Bharti Airtel, announced the launch of its Artificial Intelligence and Cyber Threat Research Center in India. The center aims to improve India’s cyber resilience, protect critical sectors and accelerate the adoption of trustworthy artificial intelligence in the country’s digital ecosystem.
“This multi-stakeholder initiative is dedicated to protecting sectors essential to India’s economic and national security, such as telecommunications, banking and energy,” the companies said in a joint statement.
“In India, For India”
The center will expand Zscaler’s operations into a national collaborative platform involving the private sector, public sector, academia and government institutions. It is designed to strengthen India’s cyber defenses and build a future-ready talent pipeline, supporting the country’s vision of Viksit Bharat and a digitally self-reliant future.
Jay Chaudhry, CEO, Chairman and Founder of Zscaler, said: “India is building digital systems at an unprecedented population scale. You cannot secure this level of ambition with legacy firewalls and VPNs that were never designed for a hyperconnected world. It demands a modern Zero Trust architecture that is secure by design.”
“As the complexity of threats increases, traditional perimeter-based security models are no longer sufficient. Disruptions to essential services can threaten national economic stability and make secure-by-design foundations essential,” the companies said.
Combining global intelligence with local expertise
As founding members, Zscaler and Airtel will leverage their strengths to accelerate investigation-to-response cycles:
Using the Zero Trust Exchange platform, Zscaler will establish an expert India-focused threat research team that will process over 500 billion daily transactions to obtain threat intelligence.
Airtel will provide deep visibility into IoT and mobile traffic to monitor networks and develop new solutions for faster threat detection and ecosystem coordination.
Gopal Vittal, Executive Vice President, Bharti Airtel, said: “This partnership with Zscaler represents a significant extension of our commitment to protecting our customers and the digital fabric of the country. We will build a safer, more resilient digital India where every citizen and business can connect and thrive with confidence.”
Future plans and expansion
The Center will gradually invite additional members from India’s public and private sectors, expanding collaboration and strengthening national cyber resilience. Chaudhry added: “With the Center for Artificial Intelligence and Cyber Threat Research in India, we will bring the full power of the world’s largest security cloud to protect the country’s public and private sectors. We are not just prepared; we are empowering the next generation of defenders so they can stay ahead of the enemy.”
