Airtel partners with IBM to power India’s AI and Cloud ambitions
Bharti Airtel has partnered with IBM to offer the tech giant’s cloud and AI services through its Airtel Cloud platform, launched in August. The companies will also set up Multizone Regions in Mumbai and Chennai to strengthen data resilience.
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Bharti Airtel is deepening its push into the cloud business with a new partnership with IBM, aimed at meeting India’s growing demand for computing capacity and AI-driven infrastructure, Reuters reported.
The collaboration will allow Airtel Cloud customers to access IBM’s suite of cloud and AI-ready technologies, a move that positions Airtel as a key player in India’s expanding digital ecosystem.
Announced on Wednesday, the partnership will make IBM’s services, including advanced AI-ready servers, available through Airtel’s newly launched cloud platform, Airtel Cloud, unveiled in August by its digital unit, Xtelify. The offerings will cater to heavily regulated sectors such as banking, healthcare and government, which require secure, compliant data management solutions.
In addition, Airtel and IBM plan to establish two new Multizone Regions (MZRs) in Mumbai and Chennai, providing geographically distributed cloud infrastructure designed to ensure resilience, security, and business continuity.
“These MZRs will help Indian enterprises meet data residency norms while ensuring uninterrupted access to critical workloads,” said Gopal Vittal, Vice Chairman and Managing Director of Bharti Airtel.
The development comes amid a surge of cloud investment in India. Just a day earlier, Google announced a $15 billion investment to set up an AI data centre in Andhra Pradesh’s port city of Visakhapatnam, in partnership with Airtel.
As AI adoption accelerates and regulatory frameworks tighten around data localisation, Indian enterprises are turning to domestic cloud providers capable of offering global-grade performance and compliance. For IBM, the alliance expands its footprint in one of the world’s fastest-growing digital markets; for Airtel, it strengthens its ambition to become a homegrown alternative to global hyperscalers.
