Bharti Airtel and cloud security firm Zscaler have partnered to set up an AI and cyber threat research centre in India, creating a joint facility aimed at strengthening cyber security and improving protection for the country’s rapidly expanding digital ecosystem.
The centre will serve as a national research and collaboration hub focused on spotting cyber risks early, understanding how attacks develop, and building systems that can prevent them from spreading. Its work will cover critical sectors such as telecommunications, banking and energy, while also helping make digital services safer for businesses and individual users and supporting the responsible adoption of artificial intelligence.
“We are onboarding banks and government agencies (for example). The idea is to have all these connections made through a fabric which ensures that we see all the effects across various enterprises,” Sunil Bharti Mittal, founder and chairman, Bharti Enterprises, said.
He added that the research centre will inform the relevant agencies of potential threats and breaches on critical infrastructure networks as well.
Minister of Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw, who was present at the announcement event urged industry stakeholders to scale cybersecurity operations and initiatives.
“We should have many more such research institutes because cyber threats are going to increase in future. With AI becoming the norm, the nature of cyber threats is going to totally change. In that scenario, how should we respond? I think a large number of industry participants should take it as a matter of top priority — definitely all the telecom operators and major IT companies must seriously look at a totally new way of countering these cyber threats,” he said, adding that a new legal framework for cyber security will also need to be created.
In practical terms, the initiative combines Airtel’s on-ground network reach with Zscaler’s global cyber-security intelligence. Airtel will provide visibility into large volumes of mobile, broadband and connected-device traffic, enabling researchers to study patterns and detect unusual behaviour that may signal an attack. Zscaler will contribute specialised research teams and advanced security technologies that analyse massive flows of digital transactions to generate threat intelligence and defensive solutions.
“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. By combining actionable intelligence from over 500 billion daily transactions with local expertise, we aren’t just building readiness; we are empowering a new generation of defenders to stay ahead of the adversary,” Jay Chaudhry, CEO, Chairman, and Founder, Zscaler.
Beyond monitoring and analysis, the partners aim to translate research into action. The centre will help design more secure digital systems, promote AI-driven defence frameworks, and enable faster coordination between companies, government agencies and other stakeholders during potential cyber incidents.
It will also function as a collaboration platform bringing together industry, public institutions and academia to share expertise and train cybersecurity professionals, with the broader goal of strengthening India’s long-term digital resilience.