Zscaler, Inc., an American cloud security company, in partnership with Bharti Airtel, India’s telecom provider, announced the launch of the AI & Cyber Threat Research Centre – India. The centre aims to advance India’s cyber resilience, protect critical sectors, and accelerate the adoption of trusted AI across the country’s digital ecosystem.
“This multi-stakeholder initiative is dedicated to safeguarding 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 centre will expand Zscaler’s operations into a national collaboration platform involving private sector, public sector, academia, and government agencies. 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 unmatched population scale. You cannot secure this level of ambition with legacy firewalls and VPNs that were never designed for a hyper-connected world. It demands a modern Zero Trust architecture that is secure-by-design.”
“As threats grow in sophistication, traditional perimeter-based security models are no longer adequate. Disruptions to essential services can threaten national economic stability, making secure-by-design foundations imperative,” the companies said.
Combining global intelligence and local expertise
Zscaler and Airtel, as founding members, will leverage their strengths to accelerate research-to-response loops:
Zscaler will deploy a specialized India-focused threat research team using the Zero Trust Exchange platform, processing over 500 billion daily transactions to extract 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-Chairman of Bharti Airtel, said: “This partnership with Zscaler marks a significant extension of our commitment to safeguard our customers and the nation’s digital fabric. We will build a safer, more resilient digital India where every citizen and enterprise can connect and thrive with confidence.”
Future plans and expansion
The centre will gradually invite additional members from India’s public and private sectors, expanding collaboration and strengthening national cyber resilience. Chaudhry added: “With the AI & Cyber Threat Research Centre – India, we will bring the full power of the world’s largest security cloud to protect the nation’s public and private sectors. We aren’t just building readiness; we are empowering a new generation of defenders to stay ahead of the adversary.”
