Zscaler and Bharti Airtel Launch AI and Cyber Threat Research Centre in India

Zscaler, Inc., in partnership with Bharti Airtel, has announced the launch of the AI & Cyber Threat Research Centre, India.  

The initiative aims to enhance national cyber resilience, protect critical sectors, and accelerate trusted AI adoption across India’s rapidly expanding digital ecosystem. 

Strengthening India’s Cyber Defences 

The new centre will function as a multi-stakeholder digital initiative bringing together private sector players, public institutions, academia and government agencies. It is positioned as a national collaboration platform designed “In India, For India.” 

The partnership comes amid a sharp rise in AI-driven cyber threats. Zscaler’s ThreatLabz India has observed millions of infiltration attempts each month, including nation-state espionage campaigns, 1.2 million intrusion attempts from 20,000 sources targeting 58 Indian entities, and rising zero-day exploit attempts. 

The initiative will focus on four strategic pillars, Protect, Remediate, Facilitate and Build, covering real-time threat intelligence, coordination with government agencies, adoption of Zero Trust architecture, and strengthening India’s cybersecurity talent pipeline. 

Leadership Commentary and Strategic Intent 

As founding members, Zscaler and Airtel will combine global threat intelligence with deep local operational visibility. Zscaler will deploy a dedicated India-focused research team leveraging the Zero Trust Exchange™ platform, which processes over 500 billion daily transactions. 

As per the exchange filings, Gopal Vittal, Executive Vice-Chairman, Bharti Airtel, said: “At Airtel, our commitment has been to safeguard our customers and the nation’s digital fabric. This partnership with Zscaler marks a significant extension of this commitment that will combine the power of our AI capabilities and deep scale for cybersecurity research to protect the country’s expanding digital ecosystem.” 

Jay Chaudhry, CEO, Chairman, and Founder, Zscaler, added, “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. With the AI & Cyber Threat Research Center – India, we will bring the full power of the world’s largest security cloud to protect the nation’s public and private sectors." 

Additional members from critical sectors are expected to be invited in the coming phases to widen collaboration and strengthen national cyber preparedness. 

Read More: Bharti Airtel Awaits DoT Nod on AGR Relief: Gopal Vittal! 

Bharti Airtel Share Price Performance  

As of February 20, 2026, at 3:30 PM, Bharti Airtel share price closed at ₹1,977.80 per share, reflecting a decline of 0.54% from the previous closing price.  

Conclusion 

The launch marks a strategic shift towards building sovereign, AI-driven cyber defence capabilities at population scale. By combining global security infrastructure with local operational intelligence, the initiative aims to future-proof India’s digital ecosystem against increasingly sophisticated threats. 

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