Airtel today announced that it has acquired a strategic stake in Aqilliz – a Singapore-based Blockchain as a Service Company under the Airtel Startup Accelerator Program. Launched in 2019, the program looks to support early-stage startups that will contribute to the growth of Digital India.
Aqilliz has developed a patented hybrid blockchain platform, Atom, that integrates differential privacy and federated learning on a distributed digital ledge. This will allow brands to create secure and consent-based solutions to engage with customers in a rapidly evolving digital economy that’s becoming increasingly decentralised.
Alongside financial backing, networking, and mentorship, Aqilliz said that will be able to benefit from Airtel’s online and offline distribution network, while giving us the opportunity to deploy its MAdtech offerings at scale to the conglomerate’s over 340 million retail customers and over 1 million business partners.
Airtel said that it is planning to deploy Aqilliz’s advanced blockchain technologies at scale across its Adtech (Airtel Ads), Digital Entertainment (Wynk Music & Airtel Xstream) and Digital Marketplace (Airtel Thanks App). This transaction is subject to applicable statutory approvals.
Adarsh Nair, CEO – Airtel Digital, said:
We, at Airtel, are deeply researching new technologies that drive the future of a digitally connected India. This relentless focus on innovation is also enabling us to unlock new growth engines within Airtel. Blockchain technology is maturing and we see its application across areas such as Adtech, Creator Economy, and Loyalty Programs. We are thrilled to have Aqilliz join our Startup Accelerator Program and be part of Airtel’s digital innovation factory.
Gowthaman Ragothaman, Founding CEO – Aqilliz added:
We are extremely excited to be a part of Airtel’s digital innovation play and bring this first of its kind blockchain technology to India. Legacy customer engagement, ad tech and marketing technologies are built for centralised databases. The future of the digital economy is already pivoting to managing value exchanges between brands, platforms and the consumer. Aqilliz’s patented technology will enable Airtel to capture and carry this value exchange in the form of consent and provenance across the digital supply chain. We look forward to working closely with the team at Airtel.