Airtel launches cloud and AI platform targeting enterprises and telcos across Asia and Africa

Bharti Airtel’s digital services arm, Xtelify, has launched a new suite of cloud and artificial intelligence tools aimed at enterprise clients and telecom operators in a strategic push to expand beyond its traditional telco business and tap into India’s rapidly growing digital infrastructure market.

The offerings are designed to boost customer engagement, improve workforce efficiency, and raise average revenue per user (ARPU).

Airtel will partner with regional telecom heavyweights, Singtel, Globe Telecom, and Airtel Africa to deploy the platforms, which will offer use cases ranging from real-time customer insights to AI-driven workforce automation.

The launch puts Airtel in the ranks of the few Indian firms attempting to compete with global players such as Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud.

Airtel is making a play to claim India’s sovereign cloud

The launch comes as India doubles down on data localization and digital sovereignty, aiming to reduce reliance on foreign cloud infrastructure. Airtel said its new platform supports secure data migration, high-availability architecture, and cost optimization. Gopal Vittal, Bharti’s vice-chairman and managing director, also claims that businesses could save up to 40% on their cloud spend.

Airtel Cloud will be delivered through the company’s existing Nxtra data center network, which is among the largest in India, ensuring compliance with local data laws and latency needs.

Xtelify’s AI suite, meanwhile, includes a data engine, employee productivity tools, and omni-channel customer experience modules. These tools are geared towards helping telecom operators, often burdened by high customer churn and operational inefficiencies, modernize their tech stack and monetize their user base more effectively.

There is stiff competition in the growing market

India’s public cloud services market was worth $8.3 billion in 2023 and is projected to grow to $24.2 billion by 2028, according to research from International Data Corporation. So far, the space has been largely dominated by AWS, Google Cloud, and Microsoft Azure, all of which have expanded data center investments in India over the past two years.

Other domestic players like Yotta Infrastructure and Tata Consultancy services are also increasingly pushing into this space, backed by government initiatives and regulatory tailwinds.

Airtel has also moved to increase its AI footprint. In July, it announced a partnership with AI-powered search engine Perplexity, offering free 12-month subscriptions to its 360 million mobile customers.

The cloud and AI rollout is part of a larger effort by Airtel to reposition itself as a tech-first enterprise enabler, rather than just a telecom service provider. The company’s B2B unit, Airtel Business, reportedly contributes 11% of its total revenue, but leadership has signaled ambitions to push this number higher in the coming years.

With cloud adoption booming across sectors, from finance and healthcare to e-commerce and government, analysts say Airtel’s entry is timely. But execution will be key.

Want your project in front of crypto’s top minds? Feature it in our next industry report, where data meets impact.