Airtel Gets Strategic Stake in Aqilliz, a Blockchain Startup

Bharti Airtel has just announced that it has acquired a strategic stake in Aqilliz, a Blockchain as a Service Company, under the Airtel Startup Accelerator Program. The investment is subject to statutory approvals. Aqilliz is a Singapore based company that has developed a patented hybrid blockchain platform – Atom.

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Atom integrates differential privacy and federated learning on a distributed digital ledger. This allows the brands to create content-based and secure solutions for engaging with the customers in a rapidly evolving digital economy that is very fast becoming decentralised.

Airtel to Deploy Aqilliz Blockchain Technologies Across Subsidiaries and Products

Bharti Airtel, in a statement, said that it would be deploying Aqilliz’s advanced blockchain technologies at scale across its fast-growing subsidiaries, including Airtel Ads (Ad Tech) and different products and areas such as Digital Marketplace (Airtel Thanks) and Digital Entertainment (Wynk Music and Airtel Xstream).

Adarsh Nair, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Airtel Digital, said the telco is looking and deeply researching for new technologies to drive the digital future of India.

Nair added that blockchain technologies are maturing, and the company sees its application across different areas such as Adtech, Loyalty Programs, and Creator Economy.

Gowthaman Ragothaman, Founding CEO, Aqilliz, said that they are very excited to be a part of Airtel’s digital innovation play and bring this first of a kind blockchain technology to India.

The future of ad tech and other technologies is based on decentralisation, and mostly the existing tech is meant for centralised databases. Thus, this partnership between Airtel and Aqilliz is going to be a game-changer for both companies.